Chopped!

This is a piece written by my friend George Bowers for the Shenandoah Herald, George is pastor of Antioch Church of the Brethren in Woodstock, VA.

            My wife and I enjoy watching the Food Network from time to time.  In addition to Iron Chef America, America’s Worst Cooks, and the Next Food Network Star, we sometimes enjoy Chopped!  For those of you that have never seen this program, it is a competition between four chefs which are progressively eliminated until only one remains, who is then dubbed, the Chopped Champion.

            The process whereby the winner is eventually selected involves 3 rounds of cooking challenges.  All contestants receive identical baskets of ingredients that have been preselected by the organizers.  Contestants do not get to choose which ingredients they will use and in order to do well, each must be used and developed to its maximum potential.  I’ve never even heard of some of the ingredients that are used much less have any clue of how to cook them. 

When told to begin, the chefs open their baskets to discover what ingredients they have been assigned.  They are all given equal amounts of time for preparation and all have identical kitchens to use that are fully equipped with utensils, stoves, ovens, and appliances.  The frantic scurrying, searing, mixing and such is quite entertaining. 

When the time is up, they must submit their cuisine to the judges who determine which contestants did the best with what they were given.  Plates are not only evaluated on taste but also on appearance and presentation.  One by one, the field is narrowed until only one chef is left for glory.  

            It occurred to me recently how much this competition parallels life.  We are each assigned a basket of ingredients which we do not choose.  These include our physical characteristics of height, weight, and health; our mental abilities of intelligence and intuition; and our social settings such as our birth families, communities, and schools. 

It is our task to make the most of the ingredients God has given us during the time He has assigned us here on earth.  Unlike the show, however, we are not all given identical baskets nor do we have equal amounts of time.  One of the harsh realities of life is that some do get better baskets and some get worse ones. 

Some have more athletic ability, some have greater intelligence, and some have wonderful family backgrounds.  On the other hand, some of our life baskets include handicaps and weaknesses, accidents and unplanned downturns, or dysfunctional families of origin.  In fact, no two people get the exact same basket, but we do have the same goal: to make the most of what we have. 

The good thing is that life is not a competition.  Our goal is not to beat out all the other folks we share our kitchens with, but to produce a life that will please our Ultimate Judge.  He considers what we were allocated in our baskets as well the varying tools we each have at our disposal. 

Some with great baskets end up squandering their blessings and others with life baskets of horrible ingredients make some of the best meals.  Our task is not to focus on either of these, but to use the ingredients we have received to prepare a life that will cause the Judge to say, “Well Done, thou good and faithful servant, enter the joy of your Lord.”  Happy cooking!  George