Counting Donuts and Coffee

There are five Dunkin Donuts and four WaWa’s on the main road from our house to the bridge that crosses the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.    We counted.  There is a serious need for caffeine and pastries in a span of six miles, I guess.  Anyway, it started in a just-for-fun activity to keep seven kids engaged as we headed out for a day of fun.  Something else interesting emerged in our quest. 

One child tried to squeeze Starbucks into the count, and a DD billboard became equivalent to a brick and mortar store.  I know it is all about fun, and counting restaurants is not that big of a deal.  Yet, I could not help but think as we crossed the river how such diversions from the stated goal reflected real life.

Everywhere we look people establish their own quest, their own game.  It begins with clear rules and guidelines.  Yet somewhere along the way the rules change, and things get muddied.  However, the outcome is expected to be the same.   The game still has to finish. 

Try this.  Starbucks sells coffee as does Dunkin Donuts.  They should both count the same, correct?  If the game was all about coffee it would, but it did not.   And what about the picture of coffee?  Isn’t that good enough?   It is not that big of a deal, I know, but stay with me.  It is simply an analogy.   

God is very clear about the rules for life.  There is one way to get to heaven.  His is pretty clear about that.  His Word is also very clear about how we should live our life.  Yet, I am amazed at how so many try to set their own rules and expect the end result to be the same – heaven and blessings.  They try to tweak life ever so much to make it work for them, or so they feel.  Maybe it seems insignificant.  Maybe it looks the same.  But it is not the same. 

When we start making our own rules, the game gets messed up.  We kid ourselves into thinking that we are going to win, when sadly we are losing if only by a little misperception. 

Donuts and coffee are small in the grand scheme of things, but I think that is it the small things that are making a big difference in individuals, marriages, and families today.