Our attitude about a stolen corn dog can reveal where our faith really is
By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
When is a corn dog not “just a corn dog”?
When our reaction to a couple stolen corn dogs completely undermines who Jesus is and what he did for us on the cross—the gospel.
A post from a cowboy justifying stealing a couple corn dogs from a gas station self-checkout because of a flaw in their system sparked a lot of back and forth from people raising the issue of stealing while a majority thought it laughable to call it stealing because it was “just a corn dog.”
One of the comments read like this: “like God doesn’t care if you steal a freaking hot dog, He’s got bigger things to worry about.”
Actually, He does care. If stealing a corn dog was the only sin that had ever been committed by anyone, Jesus still would have died on the cross for that person to have a chance to find salvation.
Yes, it’s that serious and to laugh it off or dismiss God’s response to any sin, is to outright reject what Jesus did for us on the cross. Not understanding why it’s a big deal and looking at it as stupid or trivial doesn’t somehow avoid the consequences of not comprehending the gospel. And it’s actually a ticket straight to hell.
Yes, it is that serious.
Romans 1:19-20 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
In a nutshell: God has revealed Himself through everything He made and we all have a chance to realize He exists and is real.
And the way so many people were reacting to a small-time theft shows how little a lot of people understand about the gospel and how to find eternal life in Heaven instead of eternal damnation in hell.
Those of us who have found a saving faith in Jesus and understand the gospel have a responsibility to share it with others so that they can know how to be saved from God’s judgement.
God won’t allow sin in His presence and will judge and condemn us for our sins. The punishment is eternal separation from God and for God to be a just and fair, we’re all condemned for any sin, big or small. A stolen corn dog is enough for God to judge and condemn you without a saving faith in Jesus.
Because God is a loving and fair God, He made a way so that we could all be saved from his wrathful judgement. He sent Jesus to live among us and eventually die on the cross to take the punishment for all our sins in our place. He took on the full wrath of God so that by us believing He was the Son of God, died and was resurrected three days later and by repenting of our sin and asking to be forgiven, we could be saved from hell and given a perfect eternity in Heaven when we die here.
As silly as it might seem to some, God doesn’t have bigger things to worry about than a corn dog. He cares about every one of us and wants us all to have a chance to not just acknowledge He exists, but to come to a saving faith in Jesus so we can be united with Him in Heaven for eternity.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
There are a few things beyond a lack of understanding for the need of a savior that frustrate me about the comments around this issue.
Some of the same people who would holler and make a fuss about wanting The Ten Commandments posted in public places forget number eight on the list: “You shall not steal.”
One of the people seeing the post saw it as just another reason to see Christians as hypocrites and reject the Gospel. Our attitude toward a situation some made out to be trivial because it was just a $3 item of food actually helped push someone further away from wanting to ever be a Christian. That’s a pretty high price to pay for a corn dog.
The number of ways people justified stealing from it being the gas station’s fault for expecting us to check ourselves out to how much profit they make anyway, shows just how important it is to cling to our ‘freedom’ to sin. Our ignorance of the consequences doesn’t allow us to escape God’s judgement when our life here is over.
So no, it’s not just a corn dog. It’s one more chance to embrace Jesus or one more chance to ignore the gospel. There’s consequences to both: one horrible beyond our understanding and one better than we can possibly imagine. If you don’t have a saving faith in Jesus and you’re reading this, right now, you have just been faced with making a choice to ignore Jesus or pursue him.
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