I really don’t care for sporks. I mean, really, is it a fork? Or a spoon? Come on, be one or the other.
According to New York Times author Jessica Gross, the utensil we call a “spork” shows up way back in medieval times. She didn’t indicate that it was a middle ages torture device. But I have my suspicions that it was. By the 1800s, this hybrid utensil was used for eating things from turtles to ice cream.(1)
The Van Brode Milling Company received the first official patent for the spork in 1970. Consequently, KFC made the spork famous. They abandoned the patent – probably due to psychological meltdown from trying to use it. A UK company picked up the patent and took sporks global.(2)
Today, I did battle with a three-piece spicy at Popeye’s. I prevailed, but no thanks to the spork.
When Christians Are Sporks
While reflecting on my lunchtime battle, I came to realize who we Jesus-followers can be like a spork sometimes.
In 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul contrasts the person who does not believe in Jesus with the one who does. He lists the various motivations and qualities of both.
Then in the first 3 verses of chapter 3, he describes a middle class of people. He calls them “brother,” indicating that they were fellow believers. But he describes attitudes that he calls “fleshly.” One the one hand they claimed to follow Jesus. But on the other hand their actions appeared more like the aforementioned unbelievers.
At a glance, they appeared to be part believer and part unbeliever. They were the human, Christian version of a spork.
Many believers today totter between two worlds. One the one hand they want the blessings of following Jesus. They want to know He is watching out for them, helping them, and taking care of them. They want to know that when they leave this world they have a secure place for eternity in heaven.
However, on the other hand, they want what this world has to offer. They want the pleasures of the flesh and the approval of their peers. These same believers want both the blessing of Jesus and the approval of those who have no regard for Him. They want to be both a spoon and a fork, but in reality they function as neither. They are like sporks.
The Way Forward
Transparency demands I acknowledge that description has applied to me at times past. I would imagine if you are honest, you will admit your own “spork moments” too.
What can we do? I think we would do well to heed two verses from Scripture.
The first from the Old Testament.
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14-15
The second from Jesus Himself.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 6:24
We must choose. Daily. Hourly. Moment by moment. Which side will we take. Choose to be ALL IN for Jesus. Serve Him with all you have, and stop trying to have it both ways. Be fiercely loyal.
Be a spoon or be a fork, but don’t be a spork. Follow Jesus or live only for this life. But choose one or the other. My recommendation? Me and my house have chosen to serve the Lord.
(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/magazine/who-made-that-spork.html
(2) https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/invented-spork1.htm