The Fortune
I had a hankering for Mongolian Beef a few days ago. They didn’t have a lunch portion, so I had to get the dinner portion. That means I was eating leftovers for several days.
One of my peculiarities is that I tend to eat my food in reverse order of what I prefer. I’m not locked in that priority but usually that is how I eat my foods. I blame my parents who insisted that my sister and I clean our plates and I wanted to get the less good stuff out of the way.
But back to the Chinese food. Having leftovers over several days with one fortune cookie meant I saved the fortune cookie until the leftovers ran out.
Fortune cookies are based off a Japanese cookie called a Tsujiura. When it came to the United States, which was right around the time of the Industrial Revolution, it was incorporated into the growing Chinese Food restaurant expansion. According to Wikipedia, over 3 billion fortune cookies are produced each year.
When I finally opened my fortune cookie, the fortune was ‘Remember to find joy in the journey, not just the destination.’ (Now, I’ve always liked inspirational quotes, so this one grabbed my attention. This one sounded good to me. Then I started second guessing whether I should like it (after all, I considered sharing my lucky numbers with you even though I’ve come to believe that playing the lotto is likely to be sinful).
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” - Proverbs 17:22
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13
I suspect the author of the fortune cookie really meant happiness which is based on what experiences you have whereas joy is the hope (surety) of being with God in eternity. My joy is in the Lord.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” - Galatians 5:19-24
