Cousin Steve and The Great Butter Incident

I recently bought a simple white butter dish that reminds me of a story from long ago. I was young, six maybe and perched at the breakfast table in my Uncle Bryon and Aunt Elaine’s house, along with my cousins and sisters. We were about to eat biscuits, or was it pancakes? Some of the details are vague. Others are as vivid in my mind as if it were yesterday.

Cousin Steve would’ve been around nine at the time. Old enough to know that sticking his finger in that golden slab of butter resting on a white dish in the center of the table and licking it off was a bad idea. Especially given that his daddy had already seen him do it and warned him not to do it again.

Unfortunately, Sneaky Steve kept at it until Uncle Byron laid down his punishment. If Steve liked butter that much, he could have it. All of it. I imagine our eyes were as big as saucers, but Uncle Byron was serious. And Steve, well, he choked that butter down. It may sound extreme, but Cousin Steve never played with the butter again. Who knows? He may not eat butter to this day. I’ll have to ask him. Right now, I want to close with a more serious discussion.

Nothing in this world is worth denying God the number one place in our hearts and the final authority over our lives. Like Uncle Bryon and the Great Butter Incident, should we choose to covet something God has forbidden, He may eventually let us have that thing, that life, or that person– but the temporary gain will always have a greater, more eternal cost. It’s a principle illustrated in the 16th chapter of Exodus and one we’d do well to remember. But, let’s also hold to and celebrate the following sweet truth. Just as God will eventually allow us to have the wrong thing, He will also welcome the one who repents over it. The question is usually how sick will we allow it to make us before we lay it down?

Hugs, Shellie