“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy.” (Romans 15:13)
I was in a discussion the other day which landed on the topic of food and then to chefs.
I was surprised at how much energy went into the evaluation of chefs on television, in books, in newspapers. Who knew there were so many – or that apparently the way they behave and dress, down to the very cutlery they use, and endorsements, are the stuff of celebrity.
I had a friend who hired a young man as a personal “chef.” The young man told him he had been to a special “culinary school.” I went to eat at the man’s house and the food was really good. What I didn’t tell the man was that I had known the fellow in question when he was in the state penitentiary where I worked as chaplain.
I talked with the former inmate and we made an agreement that I would let him confess on his own the whole truth, and part of that was that he had never gone to the school he claimed.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The former inmate did not tell the whole truth, and instead got the man to buy him expensive chef’s outfits, with his name sewn on, special knives, and an array of special items. He allowed his reputation as a chef to grow, and he even did local high profile events, as a “local celebrity chef.”
I bit my tongue, really at a loss for what to do. The man felt as though he had a son, whose career he was building. So much, however, was built on a fraud. One day the young man couldn’t take it any more, wrote a letter, and left everything behind the man had purchased for him, and disappeared.
The gentleman searched all over for him and 12 years later has never found him. When talking to me he said that he had always known the background of the young man and hoped the former inmate would have the confidence to realize the gift he had as a true cook, and would allow himself to grow into being what he dreamed to be — a chef. Perhaps that was never to be.
The young man doubted the quality of his abilities and tried to live into a dream by deceiving others, and even himself. Even though he was a great cook, he was not really a chef in his own mind, and rather than earn the designation, he used deception.
Many Christians are living with a burden of guilt they don’t need — living into an image rather than a relationship with Christ. They claim to be something they are not. Carry big Bibles, and dress the current “Christian fashion,” use all the buzz words, even be harsh about another’s lacking, or the validity of another’s faith, in order to draw attention from themselves — all the while having their own personal doubts and fears.
Primarily, we are called to know Jesus personally, the rest will come, we will grow as God calls us and leads us. We don’t need the outward signs of being a Christian to define us, but rather the inward grace that comes in a relationship with Jesus Christ, should define the outward — and create the masterpiece we are meant to be.
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The Rev. Walter Van Zandt Windsor is rector at Trinity Episcopal Church.
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