The Cookie Jar

Going to Grammy and Pappy's house meant several things to me as a little girl.

1. Pappy would pretend to be a bear and give us rides around the kitchen.
2. Grammy would tell Him to stop, before anything would get broken.
3. The "good" living room was not meant to be stepped into, let alone sat in!
4. We were Not to make noise.
5. If we were good, there were cookies in the cookie jar for us.

Up on top of the refrigerator, prominently displayed, was the coveted cookie jar. From the moment we stepped into Grammy's kitchen my brothers and I knew what was at stake. Cookies! They were store bought, iced oatmeal. I don't know why I liked them so much.  Maybe it was because they were served with a big, cold glass of milk. Or perhaps it was because, my Pappy would try and make us laugh by making funny faces when Grammy wasn't looking.  I just remember really, really, really wanting those cookies! 

The desire I had for those cookies, shaped my behavior.  I knew that if I was going to get cookies and milk, that a certain level of behavior would be required.

Yes, I worked it!  

It didn't matter what I did before I arrived at my grandparents home, and it didn't matter what mischief I was involved in after.  All that mattered was how I acted, performed, behaved in their presence.

Unfortunately, we can sometimes act more perfectly for people than we do for God. We can be overly concerned about how they view us than how God views us. 

This often happens when our eyes are on an earthly "cookie jar" and not on eternal things.

Are your eyes on your;

job

looks

relationships

home

car

jewelry

bank account

vacation

What things does God wants you to focus on?

A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Deuteronomy 10:12

Father, help me to set my eyes on the things that are above. I want to focus on what is eternal not on the sweet, temporary things of this life. Reveal to me where I have been settling for cookies in the cookie jar.