Whenever my husband and I enjoy Chinese food, we always look
forward to the “fortune cookie” at the end.
The little aphorism tucked inside usually brings a chuckle and a
skeptical “oh, sure” response. I always
thought that fortune cookies went way
back, maybe to Marco Polo or beyond. How wrong I was. Two stories claim to be its real
history. One is dated 1914 and concerns
a Japanese immigrant who designed the famed Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate
Park. A boss who didn’t like people of his
ethnicity fired him; a sympathetic boss hired him back. The grateful employee
created the cookie with a thank-you note inside and later made them in quantities
to pass out at the garden. The second credit, dated 1918, goes to a Chinese
immigrant in Los Angeles who was concerned about the poor he saw wandering in
the streets. He created the
message-cookie, putting in tiny papers with inspirational scriptures supplied
by a Presbyterian minister. After World
War II, the cookies become commonplace in Chinese restaurants, and contained
aphorisms or sage advice. The demand
continues: one fortune cookie company makes sixty million a month.
Of course, few would consider these little sayings to be
messages from God. Yet I’ve observed people who trifle with Bible verses as
though random passages were their “fortune
cookie” from God. There’s a joke (albeit
sad) about a fellow who wasn’t much for reading his Bible. One desperate day, he decided to open it,
close his eyes, and put his finger on whatever passage showed up. His finger landed on Matthew 5:5: “Then Judas
went away and hanged himself.” That didn’t
seem like a good choice, so he did another random stab. This time it was John 13:27: “What you are
about to do, do quickly.”
BETTER ADVICE
Don’t do that! The Bible is not a fortune-telling
instrument. But it is a truth-revealing
book taken in its entirety. So...what do we do with books like Proverbs, which
seem made-for-fortune cookies with its two-line nuggets? In my Bible, Proverbs is full of highlighting
and notes. For example, one that’s
especially meaningful to me is Proverbs 16:10:
When a man’s ways are
pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
Sadly, I’ve learned
that’s not always true. Some people are so steeped in bitterness and
misinformation that their hearts are closed. But I balance that with the
counsel of Romans 12:18-19:
If it is possible, as
far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not
take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
The verse goes on to quote a proverb about returning
kindness to an enemy. In the culture in which it was written, that included kindnesses
like supplying food and water. And no, you don’t
throw burning materials at them, as some misinterpret verse 20: “In doing this,
you will heap burning coals on his head.” This harkens to long-ago lifestyles
before the invention of matches. Fires
kept people warm and cooked their food.
To have a fire go dead was a hardship.
Sending a pot of live coals to rekindle a fire (usually carried in a pot
on one’s head) was a generous and caring gesture.
Next time you open a fortune cookie, remember to take the
counsel with a grain of salt (or pepper). And remember another Biblical nugget
that praises God for His wisdom and provision for our lives:
he satisfies the
thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:9).
Lots more, and lots better, than bent little cookies.
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