My wife and I have three children, and our youngest is the biggest firecracker. As a two year old boy, he seems to view our house as the Serengeti Plain – eat or be eaten. One of his favorite tactics when he is hungry is to open the pantry door and try to help himself to anything he’d like, which quickly incurs discouragement from his mother and father.
One day, he pulled out coffee filters and wanted to eat them. Coffee filters. I suppose that would help him be more regular, but of little other value. Then I got to thinking, aren’t we all a little like that? We have a felt need and we grab for something to fill it, without really knowing if it will help or hurt.
The search for happiness is kind of like that, and our culture the pantry. So much in it will not meet the need we feel. In fact, it will make our condition worse if not properly used. We have to trust the One who stocks the pantry that He knows best and will give us what we need, when we need it. And that when we ask for bread, He will not give us a stone. Or coffee filters (Luke 11:11).
