When Eating Burned Cookies Is a Good Thing

The guys weren't around when I took the cookies out of the oven.

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.

If you enjoyed this devotion, may I tell you about my new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women?

 Today's women want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.

You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:

• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day. Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you. 

 

If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe? I'll send you twice-weekly 5-minute devotions to help nourish your soul. 
Because women need to connect with God in the craziness of life. 

Enter your email address and VALIDATE the Feedburner email sent to your inbox.



Delivered by FeedBurner

Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.