Are You Forgetting the Main Thing?

Jason's bowls tournament was approaching quickly, and my kitchen had transformed into what resembled a professional bakery. Every surface was dusted with flour, mixing bowls were stacked in the sink, and the sweet smell of baking filled our cottage. My husband had volunteered to handle all the refreshments for the event, bless him, which meant he had been baking all day. (By the way, he's a VERY good cook!)

I was in my office, fingers flying across the keyboard as I worked on my latest book, when I heard a groan from the kitchen that could only mean disaster.

"Oh, for crying out loud!"

The frustration in Jason's voice pulled me from my writing zone. I found him staring at a tray of unbaked scones, his flour-covered hands on his hips.

"What's wrong?"

He pointed at the offending dough. "I forgot the cheese."

"In the cheese scones?"

"That's right. Cheese scones without the cheese." He shook his head, already reaching for the cheddar. "My brain's gone completely wonky with all this baking."

I watched as he scattered the cheese over the already-formed scones and began kneading it in. The dough, which had been perfectly ready for the oven, now required extra work to incorporate the forgotten ingredient.

"Well, at least you caught it before they went in the oven," I offered.

"True, but all this extra kneading..." He grimaced as he worked the cheese through the dough. "They're going to be tougher than old boots now. I should have added it when I was supposed to."

As I headed back to my office, Jason's cheese scone mishap got me thinking. How often do we Christians try to add the main ingredient as an afterthought? We go through all the motions, follow most of the recipe, but then realize we've forgotten the most important part and try to work it in after the fact.

Take prayer, for instance. We plan our entire day, schedule every meeting, make our to-do lists, and then, oh right, forget to pray about any of it. So we try to squeeze in a quick prayer while driving to work or tack on a hurried "bless this day" as we're rushing out the door. Sure, it's better than no prayer at all, but like Jason's overworked scones, it's not quite what it could have been if we'd included prayer from the start.

Or consider decision-making. We analyze all the options, make our pro and con lists, maybe even ask friends for advice. Then, after we've practically made up our minds, we remember to ask God what He thinks. We try to knead His will into our already-formed plans and wonder why things feel forced or difficult. Proverbs 3:6 tells us, "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

What about love in our service? We sign up for church activities out of obligation or guilt, go through the motions of helping, and then try to manufacture loving feelings towards the people we're serving. But 1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear that without love as the foundational ingredient, all our good deeds amount to nothing. Adding love as an afterthought makes our service feel stiff and forced, like Jason's overworked dough.

The Pharisees were notorious for this. They had elaborate religious practices but tried to add righteousness after the fact through more rules and regulations. Jesus called them out, saying they "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:24). They were so busy kneading in extra requirements that they made faith tougher than it needed to be.

Sometimes, I catch myself doing the same thing. I plan ministry events down to the last detail, then remember I should probably pray about them. I prepare Bible study lessons with all my commentaries and notes, then try to squeeze in some personal application at the end. I'm adding the essential ingredients, yes, but not at the opportune time.

The beautiful thing about God's grace is that He still works with our imperfect efforts. Jason's cheese scones, though tougher than intended, were still quite tasty. God can use our afterthought prayers, our belated seeking of His will, and our manufactured love. But how much better is it when we include Him from the very beginning!

So today, before we get too far into our plans and preparations, let's ensure we're adding the right ingredients at the right time. Let's knead in prayer from the start, fold in love as the foundation, and mix in God's will before our plans are fully formed.