I was recently told a story someone used to describe her views on religion. A young boy sat in the back of a classroom all year and never said a word. The boy was muscular and obviously very athletic. One day, the teacher approached the boy after class and asked, “How many push-ups can you do?” The boy hesitates and then replies shyly, “I’m not sure. Maybe 100.” The teacher then replies, “I’m going to need you to do 200,” and walks away. The boy walks away puzzled. The next morning the teacher brings in a box of donuts and asks a student in the front of the class if he would like one. The boy eagerly reaches for the donut but the teacher keeps it away. The teacher calls the shy boy to the front of the class and tells him to do 20 push-ups in order for the kid to get the donut. The boy obeys and easily completes his first set. The teacher places the donut on the first desk then moves on to the second student and continues through the class. Each student accepts a donut and, for each donut handed out, the boy must do 20 push-ups. Eventually one student refuses the donut insisting the boy should not suffer on his behalf. The teacher says, “Alright. But he still has to do the push-ups,” and moves on to the next child. The remaining students learn from this child’s experience and each accepts the donut to avoid causing the boy to sacrifice in vain.
Now why the teacher performed this exercise was not explained, but the person telling me this story said the boy was a metaphor for Jesus and the donut, salvation. The boy sacrificed for everyone regardless of whether or not they took the donut so it seemed absurd for anyone to refuse a donut. I see some validity in this comparison but it seems to me that the children who took the donuts were being selfish and taking advantage of the boy. True he had to do push-ups regardless, but why should they profit off his ill being. This metaphor makes more sense to me when you look at the donut as an easy life without sacrifice to God. It seems that the children in this story wanted to see that the boy sacrificed something for them but they didn’t even care as they partook of the loot earned from it. The only child who seemed to recognize the boy’s pain was the one who denied the donut and he seems to be the one that deserves some praise. Obviously Jesus sacrifices for us and we shouldn’t take advantage of him and enjoy the ‘donuts’ of life without giving something up.
In my opinion the salvation of God does not have to be earned or “received,” it has always been there and always will be, if you take it or not. The donut seems superfluous as a metaphor for that, so it must represent something else. Donuts make the most sense when looked at as the physical pleasures of life. We all benefit from Jesus’ sacrifice and we are all forgiven in God’s eyes, but some of us seem to take greater advantage of this. Many people think that, because Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins, they can simply attend worship and proceed to live their lives however they want. This shouldn’t be the case. We should all look to the example of Jesus and understand his pain, sacrifice something of our own so we may benefit Him.
Now I’m not saying we should all live in poverty and renounce worldly possessions in order to worship Jesus. God wants us to live our lives and enjoy ourselves, but to still keep Him in mind. We shouldn’t sit there and eat a donut while he lies on the ground struggling to finish his 200th push-up. We should give something of ourselves to him. We should enjoy our lives but also give back to him. We need to utilize the chances that God gives us to help, not only ourselves, but also those around us.
