No More Cookies
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15
“Where are the chocolate chip cookies?” my Mom asked the hotel clerk at the hotel where she stays when she visits me. Her visits are such a blessing beyond measure as the Lord brought me to repentance for not loving and honoring her through the years as I should have, having perverted the Word of God and deciding in my sickening sinfulness that I should base my love and honor of my parents on what I thought they had and hadn’t done right. How sinful given God’s command to love and honor our parents unconditionally, and how awful given my parents’ extreme love and generosity through the years despite where they have fallen short as all of us do. God took my repentant heart, filled it with His love and mercy, taught me to love and honor her, and our relationship has been God-given beautiful ever since. Back to the cookies.
“You always have cookies at the front counter. That’s why I come to this hotel,” my Mom said lightheartedly, joking about choosing the hotel for the cookies but altogether serious about wanting her beloved cookies.
“We don’t have cookies here anymore,” one clerk responded. The other clerk said: “We have a new manager. He got rid of them.”
“What about the apples you usually have out?” my Mom asked.
“No more apples,” the other said. “Our manager is all about numbers.”
“It’s all about the money, isn’t it?” I said, not for the first time recently dismayed over how increasingly the world is focused on money.
“Yes,” he said. I could tell he was sorry, but had no say in the matter.
As trivial as the cookie issue was, learning the reason for the lack of cookies and apples made me sad once again for this world. For truly, our lives should be all about the Lord, all about His love, about loving Him and loving one another, about mercy and kindness, forgiveness and grace, serving Him, giving to and helping one another, caring for each other, etc.
We can’t help what the world does as it becomes increasingly self-centered, wracked with evil and earthly pleasures, forsaking God and falling ever downward as it draws to a close, but we can help what we do. Are WE loving God first, then loving others, showing mercy, kindness, care, grace, etc.? It’s not about money – or cookies. As the world shows less and less love and kindness, let’s show the world more of Christ’s love.