I’m going to reveal a truth about myself that will be shocking to no one.

Ready? Here it is.

I cannot squeeze an unopened can of spinach until it bursts open at the top, launching the spinach out of the can, into the air, and then into my mouth.

Believe me, I’ve tried. As a kid. Not last week.

But I very much wanted to. Popeye the Sailor Man could do it, and therefore I wanted to do it. Who wouldn’t want to gain super strength from eating a plant that is readily available? I know I do.

Did. I mean, did.

Ahem.

Unfortunately, it was all a lie. Even above average strong people can’t pop a closed tin can with one hand. And spinach doesn’t give you superhuman abilities.

I know, shocker.

But as a kid watching cartoons, we all wanted it to be true, even if we knew it wasn’t. It did not, however, stop us from eating spinach. In fact, it made a lot of people want to eat spinach. According to a number of reports, the “Popeye the Sailor Man” cartoon caused spinach sales to rise by 33% in the 1930’s.

That is a pretty impressive marketing feat. All this from a cartoon that, while enjoyable at the time, was full of inaccuracies, did not promote healthy relationships, and did promote violence as a solution for most problems.

Oh, and it made me believe that I didn’t have to pay for hamburgers till Tuesday.

But even though it was a thinly veiled marketing vessel full of problems, there are a couple truths that stand out to me even to this day. One, it turns out that spinach is actually pretty healthy for you. Even if the entire spinach narrative they pushed was wholly inaccurate, it’s a smart food choice.

And two, Popeye has accidentally promoted a very healthy psychology of how one should view one’s self.

“I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam!”

I am what I am.

That is surprisingly healthy. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t want to grow or improve and seek to better ourselves spiritually and otherwise. But being able to embrace who we are, find peace in that, and THEN move forward into growth as we attempt to become the best and highest versions of who we are is a pretty healthy thing.

Popeye as a cartoon may be pretty flawed if one decides to scrutinize it, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t value to be found there if one was willing to see it.

My question, then, is: Does a thing have to be perfect for it to impart good and healthy things into one’s life?

Maybe I should ask it like this also: Can a deeply flawed thing still impart good and healthy things into one’s life?

If I were to start singing the praises of Adventism, those of you who have read my articles in the past might cry “foul.” I’ve been hard on Adventism. In part because,
as a spiritual leader, it is my duty to be an advocate for whatever needs advocating. Also, because Adventism has some deep flaws.

To be clear, so does every other belief system on the planet. I am deeply flawed. The things I believe are almost certainly deeply flawed. We live on a planet full of flawed things, people, and ideas.

But I want you to read this next sentence very carefully.

“Flawed” is not the same as “bad.”

Imperfect, yes. Evil, no.

I owe a lot to Adventism. I have gratitude for some things that, if not for Adventism, would not exist in my life and I would be lesser for that.

I know how to eat and live in a physically healthy way in part because of Adventism.

Advocacy for Religious Liberty is a tremendously important endeavor that Adventism has been a loud voice in since its inception. The value of this can’t be understated. If this value is allowed to erode, we are all in deep trouble.

Present Truth is an essential spiritual AND philosophical principle that is core to any good growth and learning pursuit. The idea that it is OK to learn new things, AND that it is OK to let go of old things is powerful. And, that the Spirit of God will guide us in that is an important detail therein. It gives us permission to never stop seeking and growing, and it gives us permission to recognize that maybe we got it wrong somewhere along the way and we can let that cherished belief go. Without this principle, we would remain closed to the working of God in our lives.

We have a vast healthcare system that is renowned for its quality. Adventism does real service for communities through that system. Saving lives in real time should not be undervalued.

Adventism has a huge education system. I have experienced the good and the not so good of it, but if it wasn’t for the Adventist education system, I would be someone else.

I went to Union College, er, I mean, Union Adventist University. It was one of the best experiences of my life. For the era I was there, it showed me a healthier and more loving version of Adventism than that which I grew up with. The friends I met there contributed largely to me becoming a better human.

And I found belonging for the first time in my life.

I also met my wife there. She has walked with me through some dark times. And if not for walking those times with her, we would not have met our daughter, and I wouldn’t give up that event for anything.

I went to Andrews Theological Seminary. I met friends there. I gained the tools I needed to seek and learn more intentionally. My life is what it is in part because of Adventism.

I am what I am, and without Adventism, that might be very different.

Adventism is imperfect and I’ve experienced some pretty awful things as a result. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the correct place for me. It doesn’t mean that truly good things didn’t come out of a flawed system. I enjoy good community and friends, and I’ve met the people I needed to meet in order to grow.

Adventism isn’t perfect. But it’s not evil. Most of the people in it are good people seeking God.

I am one of those people. The seeking part, I’m not always sure about the good part. But because of Adventism and seeking the Spirit, I have been able to embrace the gospel according to Popeye, and more importantly the gospel according to Jesus, and accept that I am what I am.

And what I am is a child of the creator, loved, and whole as a result of that love, and more than the sum of the flaws in my life.

I am what I am.

And you are, too.

And that is a very good thing.

Tony Hunter is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor and a hospital chaplain working for UCHealth. Tony, his wife Nirma, and daughter Amryn live in Firestone, Colorado. Email him at: [email protected]