By DARRYL WOOD / Guest Columnist

Cupcake wars erupted in Las Vegas over the holidays. Rebecca Hains tried to carry a red velvet cupcake aboard a flight. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent put a halt to that. And the supervisor concurred.

The icing was determined to be a gel. Airlines ban gels for security purposes. I can see the headlines now, “Plane downed by exploding cupcake.” Although I cannot prove it, my guess is that the two agents went to the lounge and split the cupcake over a cup of coffee.

At any rate, Rebecca was not happy. She intended the delicacy to be used if her child got hungry on the long flight home. Since the airlines did away with peanuts, that makes sense to me.

Rebecca questioned whether the agents used good judgment. Certainly our regulation-happy government could come up with a clear cupcake rule.

Until that happens, however, agents must make judgments based on their understanding of the rules. Some judgments will be good and some will be bad.

Actually good judgment comes in handy for every individual. Christians, especially, should practice good judgment. But what’s the basis for good judgment by Christians?

Paul offered some help in that area. “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4) A Christian should run every decision through the “does this please God?” filter.

Any thought, act or word that fails to honor God is the result of bad judgment. Good judgment requires that you prize God’s opinion above all others. Most decisions are made based upon your life values. For a believer, the highest value is to please God. When you do that, you cannot go wrong.

And for future reference, hide the cupcakes in your stomach before you get on the plane. Some hungry TSA agent will be watching.

Dr. Darryl Wood is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Vincent. You can reach him at dwood132@bellsouth.net.