I very seldom buy cake mixes, and I especially rarely read the box!  But the other day as I was trying to make the FB famous soda/cake mix low fat cake, I looked at the side when I picked the box up and was startled by this statement: “Thank you for welcoming us into your home.  We hope that what’s inside the box helps you bring more love to your table.  Cordially Yours, Betty Crocker”

Wow. Really? Buying a cake mix meant I was welcoming Betty Crocker and Co into my home?  How interesting!  And of course, I immediately saw a spiritual connection…a very serious one.  Although this is a very friendly “welcome”, I thought about what God might be saying to me through this.

I know we have all heard the statement that serial killers seldom look like evil, vicious people with a knife in their hands…they look very ordinary and calm.  And we all know those statements that say the enemy, satan, will not come at you with horns and an evil grin – he will usually be disguised as the very thing you want/need.  I have also heard repeatedly, usually from a pulpit, that what you watch on TV/the internet is also equivalent to welcoming that into your home, with all its consequences.

HOWEVER.  What if each of those ideas came with the entire statement that this box did??  Not just a warning that you’re welcoming ____ (fill in the blank) to your home, but the WHOLE story.  We hope (know) that what’s inside helps you bring more_____ to your _____.  As in, “welcoming pornography into your home, to help you destroy your family“.  Or what about “welcoming drugs and alcohol into your life to help you  ruin your body”.  Or this one, “welcoming that hobby into your life to help you never develop the prayer life you want”.  You can add so many other things to this list…..with so many different results.

I thought about the cake mix again, and it should truly have said “bring more fat, sugar and empty calories to your body!!  But humor aside, I really believe that God was showing me that in the busyness of my life, I have many times been guilty of rushing through decisions about my time, my health, and my spiritual walk by brushing aside His voice and saying, “I’ll deal with that next time, or later, or whatever” and never doing it.

The good news?  There is a positive flip side to this.  When I pick up my Bible to read, I can end that with “bring more knowledge and understanding to my life”.  Praying?  I can end with “bring more intimacy with my Father to my life”.  Buying that modest clothing? “Bring more honor and respect to my body, the temple of God”.  Listening to Christian music?  “Bring more encouragement and happiness to my day”.

So, I don’t believe I will ever look at a box of anything in the store the same way again.  And I hope that you and I will slow down, and look at what’s in our lives, our homes, our hearts, and our minds, and think about the ending to that statement….thank you for welcoming……..and do our best to make sure that ALWAYS has a positive, uplifting and honoring to God ending!  May He receive all the glory as we live our lives for Him!