KELSIE PETERSEN
I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of a Crock Pot (slow cooker). Whether it’s for a meal for my family or for a dish to bring to a potluck or for a shared meal at a friend’s home, the idea of putting the ingredients into the pot, turning it on, and walking away until dinner time is a busy person’s dream! I admit I’ve had my share of Crock Pot flops, but over the years, I’ve managed to come up with a reliable list of favorite dishes and recipes.
The appeal of a “set it and forget it” life has been an appeal to the masses since the mid-20th century with the arrival of “modern” electronics, and it seems that we humans are ever striving to put more and more of our lives on “autopilot.” I suppose the idea is that the less we have to think about the nuts and bolts of daily life, the more we will be able to focus on other important things, or the more time we will have for leisure and the things we enjoy. While I’m not sure that theory is working out well in reality, my mind has been dwelling lately on how this “Crock Pot” mentality can impact our spiritual lives and what its possible impacts might be.
Life Doesn’t Get Easier
I’m not sure where I got the idea that “life” is supposed to become “easier” as you go along. Those readers of a more advanced age than I may chuckle, but while I feel like I had a pretty good grasp on the fact that life would always have its challenges, it seems I have had a notion that I would be continuously, progressively more adept at handling even day to day life, no matter how difficult. It’s another one of those situations where what I knew, conceptually, was not lining up with how I was approaching my life. I had a view that I could “Crock Pot” my way through life, in many ways: set up habits and routines, and then things would just continue on autopilot. In this way, I could expect to keep “adding” to my ability to fit more into my days, to accomplish more.
The things I wanted “more” of were quality time with my family, more time for reading, for prayer, and for spending in the Word.
Now, don’t get me wrong, my intentions were noble. The things I wanted “more” of were quality time with my family, more time for reading, for prayer, and for spending in the Word. But, it seemed like the more times I tried to set up my Crock Pot life, the more times I failed. I’d start building a routine, adding something new as soon as I felt that the current elements were sufficiently on autopilot, but then the bottom would just fall out, the routine would stop, and I’d find myself discouraged, taking weeks or months to muster up the gumption to just get up and try again.
Crock Pot Failures
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about my failed Crock Pot recipes, it’s that they turn out to be completely unappetizing in appearance, and usually also in texture and flavor. It even seems that the more “convenient” the recipe, the less appetizing the result. Meats are an unappetizing grey color; certain vegetables are mushy in appearance, and the texture is unpalatable. It seems that, in order to make an appetizing, edible meal, by Crock Pot or not, I need to take some time and care in its preparation. The meat needs to be browned, and the vegetables sauteed in a little oil or butter. These steps aren’t always included in the recipe, but experience has taught me that the results are better in the end if I will just slow down, use a little extra time and care, and use that time and care as a natural outflow of love for the health and nourishment of myself and my family. The resulting meal will be more well-received, more enjoyable, and more life-giving when the preparation ceases to be about “convenience” and more about fulfilling its purpose.
Who could argue that the person in the habit of spending time each day reading and studying their Bible and praying is doing something harmful?
It’s like my oft-failed Crock Pot life. As a person who leans toward a “type A” personality, I struggle so much with losing focus of my main purpose. I get fixated on “the right” process. It’s easy to become driven, to focus on “what can I add next to my ‘set it and forget it’ routine?” Instead, my focus needs to be on the purpose of the exercise. Routines, habits, and rituals certainly have a beneficial place in our lives. Who could argue that the person in the habit of spending time each day reading and studying their Bible and praying is doing something harmful? Or the person who is in the habit of going for a walk or a run each morning? I’m learning, however, that these routines and habits will either fail or fall flat when I focus on a Crock Pot, “set it and forget it” mentality—when I try to get in the habit, in order that I won’t have to think about it any more.
As human beings, we were created to care for and to tend to the world around us (Genesis 2). It seems to me that when I lose sight of using care and attentiveness, I begin to struggle. Even though I’m not necessarily going through the motions of each item on my Crock Pot list, the act of going through the items becomes my focus.
Antidote to Adventist Crock-Potting
While some of this obsessive-compulsive attention is definitely personality related for me, I think that the never-ending litany of “to-do” in which I was steeped within Adventism has definitely contributed to my frustration and failure. The idea of being “safe to save” was hinged on our perpetual ability to improve ourselves, to overcome sin—a goal which really just meant getting better at “doing life.” The focus was on checking the boxes—and checking MORE boxes every day, to ensure that one was perpetually perfecting their character. It was hard if not impossible to separate that relentless need to perfect my character from relentless pursuits of accomplishment and performance.
The interesting thing that Adventism and Adventists often miss or misunderstand is the 180-degree shift in focus when people turn to Jesus. While Adventism results in us keeping our eyes down, focusing on what to DO, Christianity brings our eyes up to Jesus and what He has DONE.
Adventism and its worldview would have us automate our lives. We eliminate one sin—set it on autopilot; we move to the next sin, eliminate and set to autopilot. We repeat to infinity or exhaustion, whichever comes first, all in hopes of achieving the goal.
Christianity and the gospel tells us to take our eyes off the checklist.
Christianity and the gospel tells us to take our eyes off the checklist. Instead, we put care and attentiveness into our focus on Jesus and what He has done for us, the goal that has already been accomplished for us. Then, and only then, can we begin to live our lives as an outpouring of what the Lord already HAS done, and will CONTINUE to do in us and through us.
Colossians 3 speaks of this new way of living as a natural result of what has been done for us. Verse 1 says, “If you have been raised with Christ…” Verse 3 says, “For you have died and your life is hidden….” Each of these verbs began in the past and continues into the present, and the chapter goes on to describe “how then” a believe will live. No longer do we live with autopilot, Crock Pot, “set it and forget it” responses; instead, we reflect the care and love that has been shown to us in Christ Jesus.
The appeal of the Crock Pot life is real. Our busy, overwhelming lives feel like they demand it at times. How tempting it is to approach life with a perspective of “overcome, conquer, and move on”? The end result is a grey, mushy meal that fails to fulfill its purpose of nourishment and enjoyment. I need to remind myself to keep my focus on Jesus and to allow Him to show me how to love and respond to my life for His sake. He knows how to slow me down and to engage personally with the things that matter to Him. †
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