It’s a simple recipe: take 12 people who like cooking, a host of kitchen hardware, plenty of eggs, flour, butter and other fancy ingredients, place them in a tent with a sweet lady and a rather fierce man, add a dash of innuendo and there you have it – the Great British Bake Off. It is addictive viewing for many and this last Wednesday evening a record audience tuned into BBC1 to see Nadiya Hussain crowned as this year’s champion.
To the cynics it’s just a cake contest but you try telling that to those contestants who week in, week out seem to go through every emotion possible in the pursuit of the perfect pastry delight. A few years ago, I was asked to enter a ‘live’ baking contest to raise funds for Christian Aid along with other church leaders in the city. Taking part was not a ‘piece of cake’ I can assure you and so I take my hat off to them!
Whatever you may feel about the programme you have to admire the contestants creativity and attention to detail as they aim for baking perfection in just a few hours. To reach such high standards requires hours of work practising beforehand. Yet the sense of self-achievement is obviously worth it in the end. After being crowned champion, Nadiya said, “I am never ever going to put boundaries on myself ever again. I am never going to say I can’t do it … I can and I will.”
We all have work to do and the manner in which we go about that work is important. The Bible has many verses that encourage us to do our very best in the tasks that we engage in. Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” and Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”.
God not only wants us to excel in who are we are but also in what we do. It’s not about achieving perfection, it’s about doing common, everyday things to the highest standard that we can. It sounds easier than it actually is, it’s not a piece of cake but when a job’s well done it pleases God and leaves us feeling a little sweeter.
Major Adrian