The Cozy Corners Cookie Crisis - The One Year Father-Daughter Devotions

The Cozy Corners Cookie Crisis

Who knew that cookies could cause such trouble? It all began when a junior-high youth group decided to spend one afternoon a month at the Cozy Corners nursing home. Well, Jamie loved to bake, so she decided to make gingersnaps for the elderly folks they’d be visiting. It was a thoughtful gesture. And her cookies were a huge hit. In fact, after three or four visits, Jamie started getting special attention for her tasty treats and the distinct aroma that entered the room just seconds before she did.

Everything went smoothly until Colleen showed up one day with chocolate chip cookies and milk. The residents got so excited! Best of all, Colleen’s cookies were still hot. But not nearly as hot as the temper of the one who had the idea first. Jamie was so angry that she considered not coming back to the nursing home anymore.

“I can’t believe she would do this to me!” Jamie complained to her youth pastor. “It’s not fair. Cookies were my ministry.”

Believe it or not, Jamie isn’t the first Christian to be jealous of someone encroaching on her turf. In Mark 9:38, John told Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” Elsewhere, John the Baptist’s team resented the sizable dip in traffic when people began flocking to Jesus to be baptized instead (see John 3:26).

It’s natural to feel a little threatened when people step into roles we view as our own. Even in ministry. But if we’re really out to serve others and glorify God rather than ourselves, we need to set aside emotions and focus on the good that could come of our “rival’s” efforts. That’s what Jesus told his disciples to do. Is the gospel spreading? Are people being helped? Will it honor God? Those are the things that really matter.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Have you ever run into a situation like Jamie did? Talk about that. Do you think she had a right to get upset? Why or why not? If you were the girls’ youth pastor, how would you have handled the situation? Instead of stirring up trouble, stir up some cookies together. As they bake, decide who to give them to: your pastor, an elderly neighbor, a homeless shelter.

What’s The Word?

John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”   John 3:26