Food For Thought

One of my earliest memories comes from being four or five years old and watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If you are familiar with the story, you’ll remember that Snow White ate a poisoned red apple and collapsed (or temporarily died)..

One of my earliest memories comes from being four or five years old and watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If you are familiar with the story, you’ll remember that Snow White ate a poisoned red apple and collapsed (or temporarily died).. Being the child that I was, I refused to eat any red apples. I saw red apples as dangerous; to me they meant death. If I saw a spot of red on an apple I wouldn’t eat it – no shouting or beating would make me eat it! The Prince waking her up didn’t matter to me, because I was taught that poison kills.

According to my parents, no one could eat a red apple in my presence. I would make a huge fuss, wailing about how dangerous they were, to the extent that my parents and aunties actually stopped bringing red apples to the house. Everyone who came to stay with us – even those we would visit in other states – became apple inspectors by fire by force! I saw red apples as a threat and felt it was my duty to warn all who had ears. I even believed that the fruit the serpent gave to Eve was a red apple. My mum says I didn’t eat a red apple until I was 12 or 13, in secondary school. At some point I stopped believing that red apples were dangerous, I stopped warning people about red apples because I looked silly. Today I cook with red apples, I eat red apples and give others red apples to eat.

So, what’s the point of this story? My childhood woes? No.

The point is that 4/5-year-old me was doing something right; she saw a threat in the red apple, refused to eat it and loved everyone around her so much that she didn’t want them to eat it, lest they end up like Snow White. That 4/5-year-old would neither eat a red apple, nor keep quiet about it.

This is the way we are to view sin. Sin kills, and we should be bold and speak about it, no matter the consequences. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

You’re probably wondering, what is she saying? How does this follow?

I’m saying that small children tend to be eager and enthusiastic to share what they’ve learnt and to practice it. They would tell you, “Don’t lie, it’s wrong! Don’t say a bad word, it’s wrong!” And if you do so in their presence, they let you know you’ve committed the most abominable act imaginable. As Christians, we should be like that little child with the things of this world, with things that contradict Christ; we should avoid them and speak boldly about their dangers. We should be eager to speak about the dangers of living in sin and deter others from joining a culture of sin.

As I grew older, I stopped speaking about the dangers of red apples, conformed to those around me and ate them. This shift reminded me of the little steps of compromise we make to feel ‘comfortable’. But we are exhorted in Romans 12:2 to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The issue with compromise is that when we proclaim our faith while accepting sin in the same breath (I’m guilty of this too), our actions unintentionally spread the message of sin being okay.

But what does it profit a man to gain the world yet lose his soul?

When did it become okay to sin?

When did we become so desensitized to sin?

When did it become acceptable to adapt to the world we’re in and invite others to join? Being in this world does not mean we are of this world.

When did we stop praying for the world to realise the poison they consume?

When did we start buying, eating and selling the fruit we know to be poisonous?

When did we start omitting and remixing the truth to appeal to the masses?

When did we become ashamed of the Gospel?

When did we stop speaking the truth so as not to appear ‘silly’ and ‘uncool’?

When did we start accepting the world and denying Christ?

Jesus warned, ‘Everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven’ (Matthew 10:33). Jesus Christ said it, not me.

In the Matthew 5, Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” 1 Peter 2:9 speaks on us being “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that {we} may proclaim the praises of Him who called {us} out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Children of God, ask yourselves this:  Am I living like a holy nation? Am I a light in the world, or am I joining the darkness that surrounds?

If your answer is the latter, repent – ask God to help transform your mind, and sensitise your heart again. Your Father is merciful, and faithful to forgive.

– Stephanie Nkeiru Uriah