Compromises...

Yesterday morning I began preparing my chili for the Zeeland Pumpkinfest cook-off and had been feeling a bit down about it. This is my 4th year competing in the competition, my 4th attempt to at least place, my 4th different recipe to present. I can't really say that it's a "true" competition in that the judges are the general public and not culinary experts/restauranteurs/professional chefs as you would see in other cook-offs. I say "true" in that fashion because the popular vote defeats (at least in my opinion) what I consider chili to be. "People-pleasing" chili at these contests means a mild, almost weak chili bordering on soup. My mantra when it comes to chili is, "Chili that isn't spicy is just bean soup..."

In trying a new recipe I cut back on the spice in an attempt to create something that would be palatable & hopefully pleasing to the cadre of elderly that tend to show up at these contests (for the "free meal"). I have to say I felt dirty. I felt like I was making a compromise to what I believed in order to get ahead. It's not a good feeling, a feeling that begins in your gut and wells up into your spirit. A feeling of wrongness, of defeat, of disgust.

I've had that feeling at other times in my life as well. We all have our beliefs and when something comes across our path that compromises them, we have a choice to make. We can either stand firm on them and accept the consequences or we can back down and allow the compromise to occur. Often this is the "easy" way out and we try to pass it off as a "necessary" evil or "no big thing". These excuses are flimsy and that knot in our stomach is telling us as such.

I have heard stories of people that have compromised their marriages, their children, their jobs, everything to reach a goal that in their mind they have figured was worth it. Ultimately when they reach that goal it turns into a hollow victory because they have no one important to them left to celebrate with or they feel even more unfulfilled. The goal turned out not to be worth all the compromises, as if they had been lied to.

I thought about that all day, thinking about those crockpots in my kitchen simmering away, just not feeling right. I get home and stir the pots, unplugging them to get them ready for the fridge, and I decide to taste them. I was in for a shock. The chili was not mild as I had belly-ached over, but turned rather spicy as the day wore on. I felt better knowing that even though I changed the recipe to try to meet the approval of the masses, I had in fact created a chili that I actually was proud of. Quickly I emailed the coordinator of the cook-off and asked her to change my placard from "Traditional-Mild" to "Traditional-Spicy".

I may not win an award tonight, but at least I am going to be serving a chili that I had not compromised my belief in.Whether it's putting a item back in the right place at the grocery store instead of just anywhere to refusing to "fudge" something on a document - stand firm on your beliefs, don't compromise! You'll love yourself for it!


"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2, NLT


MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com