After being inspired by several television shows that my wife and I watch on the Food Network, I have really begun to sharpen my kitchen skills. Having watched shows such as Chopped!, Restaurant Impossible, and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, I have begun to pull cookbooks off the shelf and give new recipes a try. It has been enjoyable but what amazes me is the small scriptural lessons that I’ve learned from this latest endeavor.
We all know the story in Jeremiah about the visit to the potter’s house. Jeremiah watched as the potter worked the clay. If the potter was happy with the results, the pot was baked in a kiln. If the potter noticed a flaw or some potential problem with the pot, he would start over. Well, there have been a few of these lessons that I’ve learned while trying new recipes and cooking techniques. One lesson in particular that comes to mind is one that can be tied to Proverbs 20:23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.
Michelle and I have two sets of dry measuring cups. We have one set that is made of green plastic and a set that’s made of a heavier, more rubbery, black plastic. While both sets look identical when it comes to measuring dry ingredients, they actually aren’t. Last week, I did an experiment where I took a glass bowl and a postage meter and weighed half a cup of white corn meal using the two different sets of dry measuring cups. The weights should have been the same with, at most, a quarter-ounce difference. What I found truly amazed me – the green measuring cup did not hold as much of the white corn meal by narly a third of an ounce!
While I am not a professional chef by any stretch of the imagination, I have quickly come to appreciate the importance of having accurate measuring cups. Anyone who enjoys cooking knows the importance of having accurate wet and dry measuring cups and spoons. You must be able to know that you are putting in the exact amount needed – nothing more or nothing less – than what the recipe calls for. There are some recipes where “close enough” does not quite reach the mark and where just the slightest variance in measurement can make the difference in a meal that really is wonderful or that ends in near-disaster. The same can be said about how we view ourselves and how we view others.
Although I have already posted a few entries about the importance of not judging others, it is a topic that I honestly feel that needs to be continually evaluated in our daily life. I have been on the receiving end of what I had explained to me by a church member of “wholesome and meaningful judgment” as well as judging others using my own set of standards. In a sense, at some time in our lives, we all will experience both roles as the judge and as the judged.
