The Great M & M Battle

I love chocolate. Not heavy dark chocolate. I prefer lighter milk chocolate. One of my favorite ways of feeding my chocolate obsession is with M&M’s. What’s not to like? A hard outer shell that doesn’t make a mess. An explosion of inner chocolate goodness that makes you smile. And they come in a wide variety of colors to match your mood. 

The big M&M debate is about what’s on the inside: plain or peanut? As we study the life of Jesus, we are introduced to another M&M-style debate about what’s on the inside. Biblically speaking, M&M doesn’t stand for Mars and Murrie, the candy's creators. For the Believer, M&M stands for metamorphosis versus masquerade. 

Metamorphosis versus Masquerade

Metamorphosis means to change what appears on the outside to reflect what is truly on the inside. It is the root word meaning "transfiguration". Masquerade, on the other hand, means using a mask to hide what is inside. Truth versus a lie. Godliness versus cover-up. True changes versus make-believe.

We see a perfect example of metamorphosis in Mark 9, when Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain and was transfigured before them. As they watched Jesus’ metamorphosis, he began to glow with an intense light as his Godly glory on the inside suddenly became visible on the outside.  

This mountaintop experience happened in the middle of a battle between Jesus and the Jewish religious powers, the Pharisees. Jesus confronted the religious leaders with the truth of God. But they believed Jesus’ power jeopardized their false power of religious tradition. So they looked for ways to destroy him. 

Even though the Pharisees and Jewish leaders portrayed themselves as righteous and pious outwardly, inwardly, they were masking godless souls. They were the epitome of masquerade – they portrayed something on the outside that was designed to mask and hide what was on the inside. 

Our Personal M&M Battle

So, what about your own M&M battle? As Christ followers, we have been given a new inner goodness through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And we are encouraged to walk by the Spirit and live in such a way that others will see this new Spirit within us. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says we are the light of the world, so let our light shine.

But the world tells us to hide our light. Wrap it in a hard shell that changes color as the world changes around us. 

So, what do we do when we’re in the heat of battle, and we start to melt? Here are three basic steps for living like a metamorphosis Christian rather than a masquerading pretender. 

You are in a battle. Realize that we are in an M&M battle every day. We live in enemy territory, and the enemy’s goal is to keep us from being the person that God wants us to be. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm against the devil’s attacks. 

You have won the battle. Remember that our battle has been won because of Christ’s finished work on the cross. Therefore, we are called to a different kind of life, not like the rest of the world. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

Live like you’ve won the battle. Practice living as if you have already won the battle. Live like the transfigured Christ who allowed the Spirit within him to become visible to those around him, rather than taking on the color of the world. Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk by the Spirit so that we will not satisfy the desires of our sinful nature.  

So that’s our choice in the great M&M battle. We can be masqueraders, hiding behind a hard outer shell that changes colors to match the desires of our world. Or we can claim victory and live like the metamorphosis Christian that God is calling us to be, as we display the smooth inside goodness of the Holy Spirit that spreads joy and hope, even when life gets a little messy at times.