But I ate anyway...

Today the kids and I ate lunch at 1pm. I was not hungry, even at 7ish, so I didn't eat dinner. The kids had some snacky stuff for dinner, because they too were not really hungry. Then my husband called, told me he was having a business dinner and asked if I would like to come along. I was so excited 1)to be asked and 2) to try this place out, because I had heard RAVE reviews.

So, we went and I tried lots of stuff on the menu. I ended up having a nice meal, a very tasty meal. But, you know what? I was NOT hungry. When I sat down to eat, I knew I didn't need to eat. I was still satiated from earlier. However, I wanted to taste it. I wanted the experience of dining with my husband. So, I ate it anyway. Now I am bloated and have indigestion and I feel miserable. I won't even go into the extra calories I obviously didn't need either.

I got to wondering about how sin is kind of like that sometimes. How many times do we recognize sin for what it is, but because it is right there, we do it anyway? We know we don't want it, we know we don't need it, and we certainly know we don't want the weight that partaking will cause. Yet, because it "tastes" good or "feels" good, we do it anyways.

We talk about going on "diets" all of the time, so that we lessen the physical weight our body carries. To be better in the eyes of the world, in our own eyes, and to live longer. Why do we worry so much with our physical stature when our spiritual stature doesn't seem to carry such a high level of importance? Is it because when we over-indulge in food it shows outwardly? As Christians, we know that our sin is already washed away. We know Jesus died for us so that we do not have to pay the price for our sin. While that is true, we do not have to pay the ultimate price for our sins, they still weigh heavily on us. Sometimes even physically.

No mater how close we are in our walk with the Lord, there is room for a "diet". We can find ways to cut sin out even more than it is now. I challenge you all to find ways to go on a spiritual diet.

(Now, all this being said I also believe it better to take care of our bodies, as they were a gift from God to us and we need to treat them as such. This is an area where I struggle beyond belief, but I think I need to work on the inside more than the outside. A stronger inside, a lighter inside, a cleaner spirit will lead to the strength to take care of the outside.)

There are better way's to do things "Anyway"...like Mother Theresa's poem tells us

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; 

Forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; 

Be kind anyway. 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; 

Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; 

Be honest and frank anyway. 

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; 

Build anyway. 

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; 

Be happy anyway. 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; 

Do good anyway. 

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; 

Give the world the best you've got anyway. 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; 

It was never between you and them anyway.