It’s almost impossible to go shopping without bumping into mounds of Halloween candy on display. (Let’s not even talk about Christmas candy…nope, we won’t go there!)But the candy I’ve been seeing is not the candy I remember from my childhood.

Hershey Kisses? Yes.
Hershey Kisses Pumpkin Spice flavored candies? Okay.

M&Ms? Of course.
Pumpkin Spice M&Ms? Hmmm…think I’m seeing a pattern here.

Jelly beans? Yum.
Tabasco-flavored jelly beans? Ummm…not for me.

Chocolate bars? Absolutely!
Pigs ‘N Taters milk chocolate bar with bacon and potato chips? Maybe all three ingredients separately, but together? I’ll pass.

Last year, the confections manager for Walgreen Company noted, “People’s palates are changing….It’s important to be on the cutting edge of that.”

I’ve heard the term cutting edge used to refer to fashions, management philosophies, and technology, but candy?

Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, but some things just shouldn’t be messed with. Then again, a few of my favorite childhood candies would never be produced today. After all, when was the last time you saw a candy cigarette?

As I ponder the candy industry’s need to come up with cutting edge flavors, I’m reminded of how often Christians today think we have to jazz up the gospel before it can be presented to a new generation. These days, the good ol’ gospel isn’t interesting enough, so we dream up new, cutting edge ways to entertain children to keep their interest.

However, for two thousand years, the Church and the gospel have thrived by being different from the world. Our goal is not to be cutting edge or entertaining. Our purpose is to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child with the unchanging truth of their need to be restored to our awesome God and to share how He meets that need in Jesus Christ.

Of course, we need to speak to children—and adults—in the language they understand. But let’s not run after change for the sake of change. The result might be as much of a failure as butter-flavored lollipops. (And yes, those were a real product!)