And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John 8:32


Friday, October 16, 2009

My life is better when I stick to my boundaries

Belief: That looks good. I should eat it.
Truth: My life is better when I stick to my boundaries.

Where do I get the idea that life will be better if I do the things that aren’t good for me?

Well, the idea’s been around since the beginning of mankind. Just look at Eve in the garden with Satan. He convinced her pretty easily that life would be better if she did what God had told her not to do.

He was tricky, though. He didn’t say, “Hey, Eve, God told you not to do this because He knew it wouldn’t be good for you—that it would make your life worse in the long run. But why don’t you disobey Him, anyway? After all, isn’t five minutes of fun worth a lifetime of consequences?”

No, he didn’t say that. He wanted Eve to forget about the long-term consequences of disobeying God. And he made her forget by focusing her attention on how fun, how really fun, it would be to eat that fruit.

Don’t we see the same principles at work in our own lives? When we break our boundaries, what are we focusing on? The fact that breaking our boundaries will lead to discouragement, weight gain, hopelessness, health problems, lethargy, laziness, depression, and not being able to wear our cute clothes? Or the fact that breaking our boundaries will be fun and tasty for five minutes?

Obviously, it’s the second. What we need to do is start asking ourselves this question when we're tempted to break our boundaries: Is five minutes of fun worth a lifetime of consequences?

And of course, the answer will be no. Our lives are better when we stick to our boundaries - even when the potential boundary breaker is a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup blizzard. The more often I drill that into my head, the better off I’ll be.

Excuse me, I need to go ask myself a question.

6 comments:

eliz said...

"Is 5 minutes of fun worth a lifetime of consequences"
When I read this I was taken aback. This is currently a very popular theme among young people right now. And yes, they feel the adrenelin (or rebellion) in the 5 minutes is worth it, and they do not believe they themselves will face a lifetime of consequences, let alone any consequence.
I know we're talking food for us here, but our kids are being indoctrinated by this popular belief in society. I know my Grace is put down by peers at age 19 everytime she declines this type of "fun". And it can be food for her as well with working at McDonalds with her peers.

Unknown said...

That's very sad. I wonder where they get the idea there's no consequences for their behavior?

eliz said...

Maybe since the world does not recognize sin anymore? The world tells us now that your sins are "diseases" and not your fault.

Unknown said...

I wanted to eat more cheese last night than my allotted amount. It took everything I had not to do that. I love cheese and could eat a whole block of colby without even thinking. I did think of the consequenses if I let my guard down last night. I've come too far, worked too hard, to get to where I was last night, to throw it all away with binging on cheese. I was bored also which added fuel to the fire.
At church yesterday, a man stood up and asked for prayer because he was about to be fired from the school he taught at for the "disease" of gambling. He apologized to the people in the church he had hurt from this "disease." A lady who obviously was very close to him cried to the congregation that this man is a good teacher and that no one had a right to judge him for what he has done. The youth pastor who was leading the prayer requests asked if anyone wanted to go lay hands on this man and pray with him they could during his prayer. I didn't know the man so I stayed in my seat. I was feeling a little disgusted by him saying he had the "disease" of gambling but he never did anything to hurt his students. My husband brought up a good point when I told him about this (he doesn't go to church). He said he most likely hurt his students by the example he had set by his gambling. I thought that was a good point. I used to blame my binging on everything but myself. I didn't go as far as to call it a disease, although I felt like it was uncontrollable at times. I now know it takes renewing of the mind with the truth to get any sin we are practicing to under control.
This paragraph was just my opinion. I just get tired of the world calling things diseases instead of what they really are. Diabetes is a disease, not gambling, overeating, drinking, etc. You are right Elizabeth, the world doesn't call a sin a sin anymore. Our kids see this and learn it, our culture.

eliz said...

Great points Kathy!
(((HUG)))

Unknown said...

I agree with you guys, too. That was a great example, Kathy. I also wonder if kids don't learn it when they're little and have no consequences for their wrong actions at home.