My son and daughter-in-law got me an Instant Pot for my
birthday and Mother’s Day presents rolled into one. It’s an imposing thing, reminding
me somewhat of the round bread maker I had some years ago that looked like
R2D2, only this is a different color with no clear dome on top.
I often give my mechanical and electrical things names. For
instance, my computer is TheaJane while the printer is Mabel (after a dear aunt
who could talk the ears off a doorknob, every word worth hearing). If my machines
misbehave or break down, the name is usually a word I won’t use here because it
would offend a friend who has a donkey to whom we refer a lot in our EfM class.
This new widget is too new to have earned a name yet, although I’m tending toward
Darth since it scares the bejabbers out of me.
I’ve used electric frying pans, microwave ovens, electric
grills, toaster ovens, panini grills, electric can openers, crock pots (slow
cookers), and a few others, but Darth is in a class by himself. Darth cooks, sears,
steams, makes yogurt, stews, and more stuff I can’t remember. It does, in addition,
acts as a pressure cooker, and therein lies the fear factor. I have never used
a pressure cooker, although Mama used one occasionally. Unfortunately, she died
before she could teach me how to use one, and I don’t know whether to be
grateful for that or not. My son, however, has embraced the technology wholeheartedly
and has joyfully used his for the past several years. I feel like a bit of a
lousy mother to have to ask my son how to use one now. He’s become a kind of evangelist
on the benefits of using his Instant Pot almost daily. I’m feeling a bit of
pressure to take the step – after I read the book I bought to tell me how to
use the thing without blowing up the house.
I was actually only joking about my son being an
evangelist for this kind of cooking. He doesn’t get enthusiastic about culinary
things very often. But, since he does most of the cooking in his house, I tend
to listen to what he has to say. I’ve had contact with many kinds of
evangelists in my life, so I tend to pick who I listen to as well as the
subject they’re recommending, whether it’s an appliance, a philosophy,
political stance, financial investment, diet, or religious belief.
The word “evangelize” causes me to react much as the word
“pressure cooker” does. I understand what it means, and how it works, and that
it can be a very beneficial thing. Jesus didn’t know about pressure cookers,
but he did know about evangelism. It was his stock in trade, so to speak. He
was earnest and honest, interesting to listen to, and interested in listening
to others. He had a message to sell to the world, but he didn’t use the pressure
tactics we see now. He could be scornful to those who refused to accept his message,
but he would turn to others who were more receptive. It was more persuasion
than coercion. But, of course, he died because of pressure, a fear that he was
a threat to not only the empire but the Temple, its structure as well as its
hierarchy.
We’ve had our share of pressurized politics. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t seem to go away. Pressure is the mechanism to convince followers and
skeptics that red is green and the loser is really the winner. The current government
will take everyone’s guns away and, by the way, their hamburgers and beefsteaks,
and any number of dire consequences. I hear that social
justice is socialism in very thin disguise, and the more that is given to the
poor, the less the rich will get, and that isn’t the way God wants it. Is this
the message that Jesus brought us?
Something that has been running through my brain with all
the thoughts about pressure is that nothing ever changes without some form of
it. So when is pressure good, and when is it destructive? It may be suitable
for making a fantastic boeuf bourguignon, but how much does a concept,
ideal, or even a necessity need to make a beneficial and change to a mode of
thinking in line with the teachings of Jesus?
Sooner or later, I will get the hang of this new (to me)
way of cooking, but will I ever be able to see what is right and good through
what amounts to what I could see while trying to look through the pressurized
water coming through a fire hose right in front of me? Yes, I know that prayer,
Bible reading, listening to wise preachers and theologians, and simple faith answer
the question. Unfortunately, for years, I followed the wrong ones. It was pressure
to understand the Bible one way and quote specific verses in a literal manner
to prove that this particular thing was sinful. At the same time, another one approved
of something else that is now almost universally condemned.
Some of the things that changed my perspective nearly
180-degrees felt (and still feel) a bit like I am under that fire hose, while others
came as gently and gradually as a stream gently flowing into a pond. I still
may be wrong about some things, but I don’t
feel the pressure so much any more. I guess maybe I’ve surrendered to God, and
if I feel resistance to something, I don’t let the pressure get to me. Instead,
I think, read, listen, and pray about it, and then just let God take over. It
saves me a lot of headaches.
Now to turn Darth over to God – and the stuff I’m reading
in the guidebook on how to use it. Today boiled eggs, tomorrow boeuf bourguignon.
