The Funky Taco, Quality Goods, and Christ

“When it’s done well, that’s all you need.”

That’s what the server explained to me at The Funky Taco (https://eatlivefunky.com/) in Boise, Idaho, after I exclaimed, “Wow, this is amazing! Great meat, a little cilantro, lemon, and a hot corn tortilla—just perfect.”

And it was. It was happy hour, and I had ordered a 4-stack of street tacos. Each came on a hot corn tortilla with just meat, a sprinkle of cilantro, and a lemon wedge. No need for anything else. Simple, fresh, and perfect. The pork and the steak melted in your mouth as the cilantro and lemon reminded me of a beach far from Boise. Not that I wished to be far away. Boise is an incredible city, full of flavor and personality, nestled next to the Sawtooth mountains.

The simplicity of the recipe made me think of how easy it is to ruin a perfectly simple taco by drowning it in unnecessary toppings—much like we often smother our lives with so many unnecessary things. In both cases, the key is quality.

My wife is a champion of this idea. She always says, “Get a good pair of shoes—they’ll last forever, and your feet will thank you every day.” How true she is. Buy cheap shoes, and you’ll end up replacing them four times over while your feet will remind you how little you paid. The same logic applies to clothes, tools, cars, utensils, and just about everything else.

Yet, our ego and short-sightedness fail us. We convince ourselves we can get more for less, doubting that investing in quality will really pay off. Forgetting how spending on cheap things usually just lead to clutter and failed promises.

In a culture consumed with disposable goods, is is any wonder that we approach our spiritual lives the same way. We want cheap and easy. We don’t want a faith that costs too much. We want “Six Flags over Jesus” with rock bands, celebrity preachers, and trendy coffee shops proclaiming how “seeker-sensitive” they are. We don’t want long services, fasting, prayer, humility, or the sacrifice of treating the most downtrodden among us as Christ Himself. Give that seven dollars for a latte to a poor family and brew your own at home.

This desire for something quick and consumable, yet transformative, is what makes faith seem so hard. But the truth is, quality costs something—especially when it’s straightforward and timeless, like a good pair of shoes, a quality watch, or a fence you build yourself to last past your lifetime.

Attend services faithfully. Pray when you rise, pray when you lay down to sleep, pray to give thanks, pray until it feels like prayer is with you always. Read scripture daily. Give to the poor. Keep God and family at the center of your life.

Colossians 3 is a great guide to the true cost of faith. Take time to read it all, but in particular:

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…”
(Colossians 3:1-5)

Simple, but hard. It will cost you something, but what you gain will last forever. Quality isn’t cheap, and neither is following the true path and purpose for which we were created. In dying to this world, you will find life.