Don’t take the biggest cookie; just take the one that is closest to you on the plate. — Mom
NOTWITHSTANDING this seemingly sage advice from my mother, it is my considered opinion that the cookie one ought to reach for on the plate is the best one. Yes, go ahead and laugh if you want to, but I am totally serious. And I’ll stick my neck out even further and admit that I believe God, too, positively wills that we should look for and take the very best cookie. If this sounds ridiculous, preposterous, or ludicrous to you, please feel free to stop reading, and the next time you come across a plate of cookies, by all means, choose a mediocre one, or whichever cookie floats your boat. Those interested in pleasing God by finding and consuming the best cookie are invited to read on.
For starters, when we set out to select the best one, whether we’re talking about cookies, cars, or couches, we must consider the question of purpose. After all, what does “best” mean if not the one most suited to a particular purpose — the one that leads most directly to the attainment of a goal. And our goals have everything to do with our loves and the good things we desire. It will be easiest to flesh this out with an example. Let’s say I am selecting a writing implement; it makes sense that I will choose the one which will most effectively help me achieve my desires. If my aim is to get a note written quickly, then the closest functional pen or pencil at hand would seem best suited to that purpose. However, if I’m looking to practice a specific calligraphic script, well, then I will take the time to hunt down the right kind of pen with the perfect nib attached so that I can achieve that end. Which tool is the best one completely depends on what I want to accomplish.
Back to the plate of cookies.
What is it that I’m hoping for in a cookie? If pure delight at taste bud level is my goal, then things like size, flavor, and texture will be important factors. Perhaps I like a crisp cookie, or a soft one, something chocolatey, or lemony. From this angle, the best cookie would be the one that gives the most pleasure to my palate.
But, such pleasure is not the only conceivable reason for cookie consumption. My aim could be to politely show appreciation to a hostess, who made cookies to please her guests, in which case, I’d think the cookie mentioned by Mom — the one closest to me on the plate — would be best suited to that goal. Then, too, the smallest cookie might appeal to me as the best if I am wanting to watch my weight and be polite at the same time.
Of course we are capable, by the grace of God, of still higher motives — supernatural ones even. I may choose the burnt or broken cookie in the interest of charity — to spare my neighbor getting the worst one. There are times when my desire to prepare myself for spiritual warfare makes the non-extant cookie appeal to me as the best. If the opportunity arises to eat a cookie out of holy obedience, surely that would be the best of the best.
You see then, not only are there different cookies to choose from, but there are also different motivations we can have for approaching these confections in the first place. When I propose that we should aim for the very best, I mean none other than that which is most conducive to our highest and greatest purpose, our final end. We were made to glorify the good God throughout all eternity by uniting ourselves to Him and receiving the everlasting life and happiness He intended for us. The best cookie is the one helping us achieve this purpose.
The problem arises, not from seeking and reaching for what is best, but from not wanting to bother to consider what is truly highest and greatest. How blind of us to not desire everlasting happiness enough to take that trouble! How sad when we prefer lesser things, things that cost us nothing, things we can enjoy right now, to the best things.
Dear Mother Mary, St. Joseph, my guardian angel, heal my small mindedness and shortsightedness. Grant me the grace to see, desire, and go for only the very best all the time! Amen.
