Obsession

I've been known to enjoy a little chocolate from time-to-time. Not any of that dark junk that tastes like it's been sprayed with a household cleaner before they wrapped it. No. Just the really good stuff you find in chocolate chip cookies, wrapped around raisins or--my favorite this time of year--in the best of homemade fudges. (Personally, I don't know how any one could ever taste a really good homemade fudge and ever question whether or not God loves you and has a purpose for your life).

But I also know there is this nasty little inconvenience that the chocolate I eat may have something to do with the extra weight I carry around. At this point, it's just a rumor, but I have to act with the information I am given. So, I'm doing my best to cut down on the chocolate. There was a time when I could sit and eat a half pound bag of M&Ms without thinking about it. Now, just the thought of M&Ms causes my waistline to grow and my blood pressure to climb. Those nasty little inconveniences.

Seriously, I know I can't have everything I want. Every choice I make has repercussions. Chocolate covered pretzels or fruit? Chocolate donut for breakfast or oatmeal and raisins? I know what my heart says but I also know what my scales are telling me. I'm just not able to have it all. If I choose to eat turtle cheesecake for supper tonight, I should expect to regret the results when I step on the scales tomorrow. If I skip, it'll be much easier to live with the results.

But it's no different than any other choice we make. Chocolate, in and of itself, is not bad. It's the volume of chocolate I'd like to consume. Alcohol in the massive quantities Americans drink, is the reason for many of the crimes we face today. TV, video games, food, email...all of these things are good things that become terribly bad when we choose to ignore the news that we have had too much.

I was reminded over lunch today with a great friend of mine there is one obsession that trumps them all. Its the one thing that, with time, can literally kill us. The ripple effects from too much of this good thing can bring down a family, destroy an empire, ruin a relationship or send nations to war.

It's an obsession with...self. That's right. You and I become too consumed with ME. And when we do, we lost our perspective. We start to demand our rights. We start to ignore the needs of others. We become "me-aholics." The greatest damage being our relationship with God is ruined. Let me remind you today--this season--get your focus off of you and back on God. I promise you you'll find it easier to live with the results if you do.