Is it just me or is America’s fascination with food—or at least food that’s prepared by chefs on TV—at an all-time high?

I suppose it began back with Julia Childs.  But her legacy is an army of Food Network television chefs: Emeril, Bobby Flay…Paula Dean.

More stars than Hollywood.

More shows than you could possibly stomach. 

Cooking is definitely on America’s front burner.

Yet I watch it all with a…tasteful mixture of intrigue and cynicism. 

On the one hand, the Food Network seems to thrive.  On the other hand, there’s an explosion in things like “lunchables” and other pre-packaged meals.

While cookbook sales seem to soar, grocery stores at unprecedented rates are:

1. Selling less ingredients for real cooking.
2. Selling more and more frozen and prepared foods

Never before have we been more content to watch someone else slice and dice—but been less inclined to do it ourselves.

Sure there are some who genuinely enjoy whipping up recipes for braised pork cutlets with pumpkin cherry sauce.  But frankly—the majority of us are much more satisfied to watch—or pay—for someone else to do our cooking.

Yet allow me for a moment to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire when I suggest Christians today face a similar dichotomy when it comes to worship. 

We love to talk about it, write about it, read about it—and above all—sing about it.  And just like the Food Network, our self-styled “Worship” network has its own stars: Jeremy Camp, Matt Redman, Darlene Zschech. Yet if you distill worship down to its most practical core component—obedience…well there most of us all fall quite short.

Just like cooking is work, there’s a work side to worship.  A lifestyle of consistent obedience knows little of whipped cream.  It is, in fact, sometimes tough.  And sometimes bitter.  But always required.