Photo Credit: Kai Stachowiak, via Pixabay

I love a good bowl of chili.   The combination of beans, ground beef, tomatoes, and spice sits well in my stomach and comforts my spirit.  This is a “go to” dish for me that I throw together “easy peasy.”  I don’t really have a defined recipe.  I just basically throw things in the pot, and the end result always seems to come out yummy.

Well, not always.  Most of the time.

I must admit that there was one sad day that I ruined the chili.  I was putting together a batch quickly, and I reached for what looked like the chili seasoning and added a liberal dose.

Except it wasn’t chili seasoning at all.  It had the same appearance, but not the same taste.

Have you ever ruined something by adding the wrong flavors?  It’s such a disappointment.

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Recently, I faced a similar disappointment in ministry.  On the surface, two colors appeared the same tinge of vibrant and healthy, but once poured out, the seasonings produced two very different “flavors.”   It reminded me of this quote by Ken Sande from his book The Peace Maker.

It is easier to accept your limits if you have a Biblical view of success.

The world defines success in terms of what a person

possesses, controls, or accomplishes.

God defines success in terms of faithful obedience to His will.

The world asks, ‘What results have you achieved?’

God asks, ‘Were you faithful to My ways?”

I’ve thought a great deal lately about how my life flavors this world.  Lord, may I always be a tangy addition that livens up the ministry menu for my sisters.   I don’t want to leave a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth ever.

But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—
    they’re the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow—
    these are the ones I want at my side.

Psalms 101:6, MSG

Something to think about…