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Wisdom From A Fortune Cookie
According to Wikipedia, fortune cookies “are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and other countries, but they are not Chinese in origin,” and, “They most likely originated from cookies made by Japanese immigrants to the United States in the late 19th or early 20th century.” The Japanese cookie was called omikuji, and would include random fortunes. Fortune cookies, if anything, are more American than Chinese. But, they do give us some interesting bits of wisdom every once in a while, and some of them are actually worth some serious consideration. Let’s consider just a few today that I have accumulated after too many trips to the local Chinese restaurant.
“The pleasure of what we enjoy is lost by wanting more.” This bit of wisdom speaks of the constant search for happiness that seems to be the sole focus in life for so many, but which is actually a never-ending pursuit. It is never-ending because as soon as the supposed goal of happiness is reached, ‘happiness’ is redefined, and the search begins again. It is either a new place, a new object, or even a new person, but whatever the case, the one engaged in this endless pursuit of happiness never finds it [or finds it for short periods] because he or she is looking for happiness in the wrong place.
The wise writer spoke of such a one when he wrote, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity” (Eccl. 5:10). The continuous pursuit of happiness is most often a pursuit of the temporal things, and therein is the problem. The only lasting happiness is found when we set our sights a lot higher and strive for the eternal, spiritual things.
Jesus admonished us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19), and Paul likewise admonished the early disciples, saying, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1, 2). And, for those married individuals who think another person is the key to happiness, the wise writer admonishes us, “Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well” (Prov. 5:15); in other words, be happy with your own, and don’t be looking somewhere else for your happiness.
“A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.” It is highly ironic that so many people call for change in this world but, when it comes down to the work necessary for the change, far fewer are involved or even interested. Sort of like the old story of the little red hen and making bread, a lot of people want the benefits of others’ labors, but are not so interested in being involved in the work that brings about the benefits.
This is no less true when we are speaking about the spiritual work of God’s people, either. We may sometimes read of the successes of the early church and wonder why we can’t achieve those same successes, but then when someone points out what needs to be done to do that, the interest suddenly wanes and quickly evaporates! Brethren, let’s be honest with ourselves and acknowledge there will be no growth and no successes like the early church if we don’t each individually put forth the effort!
The apostle Paul reminds us Christ established certain offices within His church, “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,” so that they might equip “the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11, 12). He goes on to note that the aim of this is to help us all become more like Christ (Eph. 4:13-15), but then notes it is when “the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share” that there will be “growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16). When each part does its share, there will be growth, but not until then.
“Learning is a treasure which accompanies us everywhere.” As Christians, it is our responsibility to know what God would have us do and how He wants us to live, and there is no shortcut to learn these things; diligent study is absolutely necessary, and it is a lifelong effort. But, when we learn those things, it will be evident in our everyday lives, and everywhere we go.
The apostle Paul admonishes us to think on the good things of this world (Phil. 4:8), and when we fill up our minds with the good, we will, naturally, be thinking of the good and then practicing the good. What we learn is what we become or as Jesus put it, “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart” (Matt. 15:18). The wise writer said it this way: “as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). We become what we are thinking, and thinking comes from what we allow into our hearts. If we have learned the good, it will most certainly be a treasure that accompanies us everywhere, and others will also benefit from our learning. We need to be more diligent in learning the good and eliminating the worthless from our thoughts so our lives will be a treasure to others.
The apostle Paul thought of the glorious message of God’s plan for our salvation he had learned, and considered it a treasure — something infinitely valuable that should be shared with others. As he considered his role in the preaching of that message, he put it this way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). The treasure we have is not self, but the message we carry in us as we go about our daily lives. Have you shared the treasure?
“Live, think, and act for today. Tomorrow may be too late.” If there was ever a fortune cookie message that should be heeded, it is this one! The fact is, “you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14). Not one of us knows the day of our death, or when Christ is coming again, and it is the height of foolishness to live, think, and act as if we have all the time in the world. We don’t know that!
Paul notes that when Christ comes again, “we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51, 52), so there won’t be time to get your life in order then; now is the time. And in addition to the suddenness of the end of all things, our existence itself is relatively short; it was for this reason, the psalmist asked, “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa. 90:10, 12). While we might like to think we will “live forever” or that we have “all the time in the world” to get right with God, we don’t know how long we have, and delaying could cost us eternally. ‘Tomorrow’ may be too late.
We may remember the infamous words of Felix who, having heard the message of “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” from Paul, said, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you” (Acts 24:25) and, sadly, that ‘convenient time’ never came. Don’t let that be you.
As Paul put it in his letter to the Christians at Corinth, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Live, think, and act for today. Tomorrow may be too late.
Wise words, indeed. — Steven Harper
