The Gospel According to Mr. Potato Head

The Toy Story movies are innocent enough and a pleasant diversion from the responsibilities of adulthood. Having no TV has not cured me of a fun film and I’m still a visual person. The Bible says that without a vision the people perish and since our thoughts are not His thoughts, it’s only natural that we would twist the concept to our own liking. One of the joys of imagination is that it gets away from us to the point of ultimate obsession or fills a void with momentary inspiration. I’ve been blessed with both extremes and I will attempt to put a face on it for you. No pun intended.

It is to the pastime of children, who are learning to craft an expression, a demeanor they might be stuck with all their life, that I present the changing view of the person commonly known as Mr. Potato Head. Now that he is in the Church he prefers to be known as Brother Potato Head; not to be confused with Pastor Potato Head who has a formal background in the study of Potato Hermeneutic Development. That’s what his PHD stands for. In order to stay on track we’ll avoid going into detail about his starchy tuber home life, his sweet potato and the tater tots. This may be a delightful comparison but my theological spin on these particular Spudsters is limited.

Imagine if you will first thing on Sunday morning waking up to a blank expression. With no apparent reflection in the mirror and no clue as to how to put on a reasonable testimony of the truth, we’ll just have to sort through a collection of add on items that should cover the situation until after the benediction. Then we can replace the outward appearance with a more realistic expression of life beyond the church parking lot as we put on an appropriate phony face. The little ears that we had at 10 am are removed and an appropriate large set is put into place to capture the essence of gossip, opinion and a new CD just released by The Dipsy Chips. The drowsy eyes of the post offering sermon is now changed to a big colorful set of attentive peepers that you pop in to watch your favorite Sunday afternoon sports event. The nose that has no capacity to discern between religious flatulence and a fragrant fellowship with God, has been replaced with huge garage sized nostrils that are drawn away to the aroma of a false prophet’s promise. I could go on and on about the replaceable mouth that speaks one thing at the Bible study and another thing at the water cooler and the flexible hands that are raised in the worship service but lowered in the handling of worldly goods and everyday business, but I won’t.

One item that doesn’t come in the box with the Potato Head Disciple is the heart of the apparatus and not something to be toyed with. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jer 17:9-10. Keeping up appearances has always been a challenge and we have all been known to put on a front to cover an inner anxiety or hide a transgression from those around us. We fill the duplicitous orifice with a plastic plug; a convenient nonessential distraction until the day the Holy Spirit or a close friend points out the disguise. You can fool church people most of the time but you can’t fool God at all and as we come to terms with true repentance we will eventually assume a suitable expression that will remain the same in every situation. Until that look is achieved there will always be numerous playful accessories and some assembly required.

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Prov 6: 16-19

T. LaVigne
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