When my son Ty was a toddler, we often took day trips to the mall. Once when we were exiting the mall Ty spotted, or should I say he smelled hot cinnamon rolls baking at the Cinnabon store. It didn’t take much for him to convince me that we needed to purchase this sweet treat.
I asked the clerk to pack our cinnamon roll and we headed to the car. After buckling Ty into his car seat, I cranked the car and began to make our way home. As I drove, I opened the box and tore off the outside of the roll and gave it to Ty. He was so happy as he chomped down on the delicious treat. I, too, was quite content as I bit into the center of the bun––you know, the most gooey and sweet portion. I think I must have moaned.
It was that good!
Ty, finished with his roll, asked for some more. Once again, I gave him part of the outside edge.
“He’ll never know the difference,” I thought, keeping the center portion for myself.
And he didn’t. He gratefully accepted the second piece and began happily munching away.
As I continued eating my coveted center portion, a sickening feeling began to churn within me. “You kept the best part for yourself,” a voice called out to me.
“He’s only two,” I silently argued back. “What does he know about a cinnamon roll? Ty doesn’t care if he has the outside or inside of this roll. Look how happy he is.”
And I was right. Ty, although a shiny, sticky mess, was all smiles. But I knew that wasn’t the point.
The truth was I had kept the best for myself.
I had purposely torn apart that hot roll and given my son, I guess you could say, “the short end of the bun.”
Was it really that big a deal? Probably not to most people, but I believe it was a big deal to God. And that made it a big deal to me.
I apologized to Ty, not that he fully comprehended what I was talking about. Then, I confessed my dirty deed to my husband, Tim. We had a good laugh, but more importantly, I received a valuable lesson of how important integrity is to the Lord. Even in the little things.
We are so honored to have Kristi Overton Johnson as a guest blogger this week! Kristi is the former world record holder in women’s slalom and founder of In His Wakes, a water sports ministry. To learn more about Kristi Overton Johnson and her story click here.