Arranged in neat rows of threes, there was a triplet for each of us.
And just one problem. But it was a big one.
My oven had cooked unevenly, and the three cookies on the back of the cookie sheet were, shall we say, crispy. And crispy was putting it mildly. I smelled them before I saw them as I ran to the oven and flung the door open.
Alas, it was too late.
Although they weren't torched, they also weren't slightly gooey in the middle and golden brown on the edges. More like well-done in the middle and mahogany on the edges. I knew when they cooled they would not be the deliciously chewy cookies I had intended when I popped the dough into the oven a mere 15 minutes earlier.
As I looked closer, I realized that the three cookies at the front of the sheet looked almost perfect. Somehow they had escaped the oven's fierce blast and come out just the way I liked my cookies.
Hmmm, I rationalized, the guys aren't home yet. They'll never know that all the cookies weren't slightly singed. . . . If I eat the perfect ones now, they'll never know any differently. . . . It will be a win-win situation. I'll get my perfect cookies, and they'll have cookies, too. After all, guys don't care as much about things like slightly gooey centers and golden brown edges, right?
What makes me shake my head in amazement is that at 48-years old, I still act like a selfish child.
I suspect, if the truth is told, you've had a conversation with yourself lately that sounded very similar to this one. Whether we admit it or not, there are a few truths to consider from this scenario:
1. We're all selfish. "The heart is desperately wicked, who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).
2. Our default setting is to look out for #1. "No man hates his flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it" (Eph. 5:29).
3. If given a chance, we try to rationalize our sin. "There is a way that seems right to a (wo)man, but the ways thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 16:25).
Thankfully, if we've surrendered our lives to Christ, the default setting is not all we have. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold, all thing have become new" (2 Cor 5:17).
As I reached for the spatula to lift off the three perfect three cookies, the Holy Spirit stopped me in mid-reach.
"Look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others," he whispered (Phil. 2:4).
"Esteem others as better than yourself," he reminded me (Phil. 2:3).
With a smile, I slid the spatula under the crispy cookies instead, transferred them to my plate, and gobbled them up quickly, before they could cool and petrify.
And I smiled.
Because in this small battle between my flesh and the Spirit of God who lives inside me and wants to conform me to his image,
the Holy Spirit had won.
And those crispy cookies sure tasted good.
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I love it when Holy Spirit wins these battles!
ReplyDeleteI now have a new appreciation for burnt cookies. I also have a husband who likes the dark crispy ones the best. What a blessing!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great picture of the battle that goes on in each of us! Thank you for sharing! We're neighbors at What Joy is Mine! Blessings! simplyhelpinghim.com
ReplyDeleteSuch a good reminder! It's those small battles that eventually shape our character. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI'm the one in our house who like them crispy and dark. Oh but this applies to so much in life. I have to remind myself often--"It's not all about me."
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