Keep the Candy, Lose the Wrapper
One Halloween, I was riding home in the family minivan with my brother in the backseat beside me and my mom driving. Mom told us we could each pick two pieces of candy to eat on the way home.
I dug through my stash and pulled out a Reese’s peanut butter cup.
For some reason, little me had not yet experienced the joy of a Reese’s, so I asked, “What is this?”
After explaining what it was, my brother assured me, “I think you’ll really like it, Sis.”
So I opened the wrapper. Okay, so far, so good. Chocolate. Peanut butter. What’s not to love?
But then I kept chewing…and chewing…and chewing.
My brother eventually noticed that I was still working on the same piece of candy.
“What are you eating over there?”
“That candy you said I’d like. It was good. But now it’s gross.”
“Still?”
“Yeah.”
He sat there for a minute, clearly confused, while I continued trying to eat this increasingly disgusting candy. Finally, he asked the question that would change everything.
“Did you take the wrapper off?”
I’m sure I looked at him as if he had five heads.
“Yes! I took the wrapper off!”
My mom, apparently sensing the tension brewing in the backseat, intervened.
“There are two wrappers. Did you take both of them off?”
“Yeah, Sis, there’s a brown one,” my brother explained. “Did you take it off? It’s inside the other one.”
Reader, I had, in fact, not taken the second wrapper off.
I hadn't realized this special candy was double-wrapped, and in the darkness of the minivan, I hadn't noticed the thin brown paper liner.
And then came the final, entirely reasonable instruction:
“Spit it out! No wonder it’s gross!”
I think about this story every Halloween, this year as I was reminiscing I was reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)
This verse sits right next to instructions not to despise prophecies, not to quench the Spirit, and to abstain from evil. Paul was writing to help the young Thessalonican church avoid spiritual deception.
“Test” is the Greek word δοκιμάζω (dokimazō). To test, examine, prove, scrutinise (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals. Also, to recognise as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy.
“Hold fast” is the Greek word κατέχω (katechō). To hold fast, keep secure, keep firm possession of, to possess.
The Message Paraphrase says, “On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what is good.” While I try to be careful about how much I use it, I think the paraphrase does a good job here.
The Thessalonian Christians were in a city known as a commercial and transportation crossroads. In the ancient world, merchants needed to distinguish genuine coins from counterfeits. Paul’s use of the word δοκιμάζω (dokimazō) (to test) could describe this kind of examination.
When we read the passage through this lens, we might begin to see a new picture. These ancient believers lived in a vibrant, bustling city that was a battleground of beliefs. Paul’s words could be read as an invitation to treat the beliefs and teachings they encountered with the same care as merchants testing currency. He encouraged them not to get caught up in the melting pot of philosophies or to fear expressions of the Spirit because of their pagan surroundings. Instead, he urged them to aggressively filter every message, reject what is false and hold tightly to what is genuine biblical truth.
In Christianese, you might hear the word discernment.
When someone gives us advice, have we considered whether it aligns with God's Word, or are we accepting it simply because someone we trust said it?
When we carry on a tradition, have we examined whether it's necessary, right, and good, or do we continue it simply because it's what we've always done?
When we’re taught something, have we examined it in the light of Scripture, or have we accepted it simply because our pastor or another trusted teacher said it?
When we reach a conclusion, have we honestly examined our reasoning and considered whether we might be wrong, or have we simply settled on what we want to believe?
This passage doesn’t invite us into a casual look at what we’re hearing, thinking, and learning, it invites into what can be an agonizing process at times: rooting out false beliefs, letting go of what is wrong, and holding fast to what is pure and good.
Back in the dark minivan I thought I had it figured out. I accepted my brother’s advice, ate the candy, and then thought he was crazy. It wasn’t until it was explained to me what I missed that I was able to really enjoy the sweetness of the candy.
To come to the realization that Reese’s was actually good though, I had to be willing to re-examine what I knew…or thought I knew.
Are we willing to reconsider our understanding when something doesn’t seem right?
Are we willing to let someone point out what we’ve missed?
Are we humble, teachable, and students of the Word?
Are we willing to ask God to show us what we might be believing that isn’t actually true? And then change when he does?
Can I admit that I felt pretty silly when it happened? What kinda person doesn’t unwrap candy? But in the dark of the minivan I just trusted what I knew. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. It can be like that in our spiritual lives too, we just don’t know what we don’t know. The invitation is to learn and grow and change.
When we discover something new that changes something we’ve held onto–either in personal study or with someone else–there’s no shame in that. We don’t have to feel silly because we didn’t know something, we get to just be grateful for what we have now.
Like Resse’s being one of my favorite candies now.
Not every truth is as sweet to us as candy is. The process of discernment isn’t always an easy one. It’s hard to unravel what we should really cling to and what we need to throw away. However, with the Holy Spirit we can be up to the challenge.
Test everything. Hold fast to what is good. Keep the candy. Lose the wrapper.
Reflection Questions
Am I willing to let God show me that something I believe isn’t actually true–and to change when He does?
When was the last time I examined something I believed instead of simply accepting it because I’d always believed it?
When someone challenges something I believe, do I examine what they’re saying, or do I immediately become defensive?
How do I test what I hear against Scripture while remaining willing to learn from others?
What is one thing I need to let go of, and what is one good thing I need to hold on to?
Bible Reading
1 Thessalonians 5, especially verses 19-22
Acts 17:10-12 - The Bereans
Proverbs 18:13 - hearing before answering
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