The Frozen Dinner Analogy
The doctrines are the doctrines are the doctrines. They are what we believe. And while the doctrines are what we always believe, the culture the church has surrounded them with is not always palatable.
It’s like a frozen dinner. Frozen dinners come with instructions like: remove overwrap, heat for 5 minutes and let stand before serving. Because frozen dinners have to be served properly in order to be edible.
If you shave 20 seconds off what the directions told you, okay, it’s probably no big deal. You can still eat the food. But would you want to eat—could you eat—a frozen dinner that was supposed to be cooked for 5 minutes if it had only been nuked for 1?
Why not? The ingredients are the same either way? The ingredients are the ingredients are the ingredients.
See where this is going?
The ingredients that make up Adventism need to be served in a way in which people can eat them. It’s that simple. If the food is prepared and served wrong, the chef can’t blame people for not wanting to eat it.
The Adventist institution is full of folks with doctorates who specialize in serving up cold food—good ingredients, but inedible to many. The institution has been shaving off 20 seconds here and there decade by decade, sermon by sermon. committee meeting by committee meeting.
But then these pesky young Adventists come along and dare to acknowledge the hunger pangs stabbing at their stomachs. They know what they want. Edible, nourishing, empowering spiritual food. They tell the person serving them food what they want. As loudly and as clearly as they know how. But the person doesn’t listen. They never listen. They say they are listening—they even say it like they mean it. And yet the food isn’t getting warmer and more edible. It’s still getting colder. With no end in site.
Even after an NAD representative rubber stamped their order.
And then it clicks: young Adventists realize that they don’t need someone to heat up their food for them, after all. They are perfectly capable of doing it themselves. Why have they been paying someone to do it for them all this time when they aren’t even getting what they want—what they need?
Is it because this person says they love them and worked hard to prepare their food and disappointing them or making them feel bad doesn’t seem like an option? But why are they starving then? Is it because they don’t want to be accused of not liking the ingredients? Is it because there were some vehement excuses made? Is it because orders to eat the food were given? Is it because this person says that cooler meals are better? But that’s not what the instructions say… It’s all so confusing. There are so many questions.
In the end, though, you’ve gotta eat to live.
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Want to get your friends involved in the discussion? Here are a few intriguing title suggestions you can use to get their attention on social media.
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- Why The Ingredients That Make Up Adventism Need To Be Served In An Appetizing Way
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