I was going to make one for Sunday dessert, but today is Saturday and I felt bad. Right this minute my kitchen is filling up with the smell of pastry and cinnamon.
So I decided to make two. One for today and one to share at Grandma's house after church tomorrow. I'm not very good at judging "how much" so when I tried to divide the dough for the pie crust in half I don't think I got it exactly even. As I was rolling out the crust(s) I suspected that one of the pies might be a little prettier than the other. Should I take the nicer one to Grandma's where people are going to see that one? Or maybe the right thing to do would be giving my husband and my boys the best one.
Why shouldn't I? Why did I want to take the better one (if there is a better one, I don't know because they're still in the oven) somewhere and give the people who live in my house second best?
I'm sorry to say the answer is pride. Whether to keep from being criticized that "something's not quite right" about it, or because I want to maximize the possibility of praise because "oh, what a pretty pie!", really I'd be thinking of myself.
The timer will go off soon and out they'll come. Maybe they'll be identical and it won't matter. Maybe Keith will even suggest that I take the "better" one, if there is a better one.
All I know is I felt a little check in my spirit this afternoon. I really don't think there's anything wrong with taking a nicer-looking pie to a carry-in or family gathering. But keeping back our best for the wrong reason is displeasing to God. One of the very first recorded sins!
Proverbs 3:9-10 says, "9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,with the firstfruits of all your crops;10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine."
He never takes more than He gives. He will always bless us when we give our best.
No comments:
Post a Comment