Cold Fries and Cold Lives

The calendar has turned to the cold, cold month of February, and I have been thinking about things that leave me cold. Like...

-- The conversion to digital television
-- Comedians who revert to vulgar language for laughs
-- Preachers who are so proud of themselves
-- People who drive on ice like there is no ice
-- Bad grammar and words spelled incorrectly in the newspaper
-- Dirty restrooms in public places (or, why can't Cracker Barrel do a better job?)
-- Being forced to watch TV commercials at the movies
-- Old, cold french fries

Which begs the question: Why can't I get fresh, hot french fries at a fast food drive-thru?

I mean, these places serve millions and millions of french fries at their drive-thru windows every day...McDonalds, Wendy's, White Castle, Steak n Shake, Burger King, Rally's, Arby's, Frisch's, Chick Fil-A, KFC, Long John Silvers, and so many more and none of them can keep their fries fresh and hot.

Believe me, I have given them all plenty of opportunities to prove me wrong!

Yet, time after time, after time, after time...after time...the same scenario repeats itself: I stop at the drive-thru and wait patiently for my food to come popping out of the window, and as soon as I get it, I drive like a maniac so I can make it home while the fries are still hot.

Only to be disappointed every time.

The fries are not hot. As a matter of fact, it is obvious that they had not been hot the moment they were plopped into the bag. They are limp and lukewarm and rubbery. That doesn't happen in the time it takes to drive home.

Nothing leaves me cold like a cold french fry. Once they lose their heat, there is no way to get it back. There is only one thing you can do with cold fries...throw them away.

Here's the catch...

...if I could find even one place that would hand me hot fries instead of lukewarm fries, I would be their most loyal customer. I would drive through their drive-thru a lot more often.

And, I have a feeling I am not the only one. I have a feeling there are many, many people in the world screaming for hot fries!

Which means, if even ONE restaurant would make it a rule to serve ONLY hot fries at their drive-thru, they would increase their business, make more money, and gain the loyalty of millions of customers!

So, why don't fast food restaurants serve hot fries?

I think it is just the way most companies do business today. Instead of working on ways to MAKE money, businesses today think about how to SAVE money. In the fast food business, they think they can save money by using old fries instead of cooking fresh fries.

They S-T-R-E-T-C-H it.

They "make do." They think those lukewarm fries are "good enough."

The logic goes something like this: They serve lukewarm fries rather than throwing them out...the fewer they throw out, the fewer they cook each day...the fewer they cook each day, the more money they save because they go through fewer fries each day.

But the goal of a fast food business should not be to SAVE fries. Instead, the goal should be to SELL fries!

Hint: If you serve ONLY hot fries at your drive-thru window, you will SELL more fries.

Trying to save fries by serving lukewarm fries = selling fewer fries = less money.

Selling only hot fries = more fries sold = more money.

So why can't I get hot french fries anywhere? Because people are afraid to throw away a few lukewarm fries and just step out in faith that hot fries are the secret to selling more fries.

That is true of our spiritual walk as well.

We want to "make do" with a cold fry faith. We want to make our original commitment to Christ S-T-R-E-T-C-H so that it, alone, will be "good enough" to last us for the rest of our lives!

In the process, we think we are saving something special by holding so tight to that first encounter with our Savior that we never go any further...we don't grow in our walk with Him...and our relationship with Jesus goes from hot, to lukewarm, to cold.

Just like those fries.

And a cold faith leaves God cold just like those cold fries that come through the drive-thru window leave me cold.

How much better it is to keep your faith fresh...to know Jesus more intimately...love Him more fully...and to try to be more like Him.

The secret to a vital walk with Christ is to serve Him only the hot fries of faith, which you keep fresh and hot by the way you seek Him in new and fresh ways every day.

Here is how the author of Hebrews expressed it, as translated into contemporary language...

"By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one – baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ...there's so much more. Let's get on with it!"
(Hebrews 5:11-6:3, selected from "The Message")

Stop craving baby's milk in your relationship with God. Stop saving those old, cold fries! It is not "good enough" for Him.

Instead, step out and give Him the good stuff...give Him the place of priority in your life by pursuing Him in prayer, worship, study, giving, and obedience!

When you do that, even the month of February will not seem so cold, after all!


Pastor Greg