Last fall I saw an article which asked, "How many pounds are you planning to gain over the holidays?"
"What?" I thought. I wasn't "planning" to gain any, but I knew I surely would because I always do, usually 8-10 pounds, which I then spend January and February trying to take off.
But then I thought about the point, which I am not sure the author of this article was actually trying to make, but which occurred to me almost instantly. If you are not planning how to keep the weight off, you might as well plan to gain it, especially after a certain age. There must be a preventive plan in place to keep that from happening.
So let me ask this: How much are you planning to sin this week? I see your reaction was the same as mine to that other question. And once again, the point is, if you are not actively trying to avoid sin and even temptation, you will probably fall right into it sooner rather than later. How do you avoid it? Different things probably work best for different people. For me it's prayer, study, meditation, and keeping myself busy with the Lord's work, especially teaching, writing, and serving. It's more difficult to fall into sin when you just spent an hour or two writing lessons on spiritual maturity. Others might need other types of help. You know yourself best. It's just being honest with yourself that becomes the problem.
As far as the holidays go, we made a plan. When I made the usual holiday goodies, I took them somewhere else and left them there rather than bringing home the leftovers. That way my children and grandchildren still got what they love without too much harm to us. And we only got "careless" about our eating on the actual holiday rather than the whole holiday season. It cut my usual weight gain by less than half and it was gone before the end of January. The plan made the difference.
So make your plans this week. Not about your eating, but about avoiding sin. You still might slip, but I bet you get further into the week with less error than ever before simply because you are more aware and thinking about it. If you do slip, acknowledge it and repent right away, and begin again.
How much do you plan to sin this week? Tell yourself, "Not at all," and then do your best to make it happen.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:12-14).
Dene Ward
"What?" I thought. I wasn't "planning" to gain any, but I knew I surely would because I always do, usually 8-10 pounds, which I then spend January and February trying to take off.
But then I thought about the point, which I am not sure the author of this article was actually trying to make, but which occurred to me almost instantly. If you are not planning how to keep the weight off, you might as well plan to gain it, especially after a certain age. There must be a preventive plan in place to keep that from happening.
So let me ask this: How much are you planning to sin this week? I see your reaction was the same as mine to that other question. And once again, the point is, if you are not actively trying to avoid sin and even temptation, you will probably fall right into it sooner rather than later. How do you avoid it? Different things probably work best for different people. For me it's prayer, study, meditation, and keeping myself busy with the Lord's work, especially teaching, writing, and serving. It's more difficult to fall into sin when you just spent an hour or two writing lessons on spiritual maturity. Others might need other types of help. You know yourself best. It's just being honest with yourself that becomes the problem.
As far as the holidays go, we made a plan. When I made the usual holiday goodies, I took them somewhere else and left them there rather than bringing home the leftovers. That way my children and grandchildren still got what they love without too much harm to us. And we only got "careless" about our eating on the actual holiday rather than the whole holiday season. It cut my usual weight gain by less than half and it was gone before the end of January. The plan made the difference.
So make your plans this week. Not about your eating, but about avoiding sin. You still might slip, but I bet you get further into the week with less error than ever before simply because you are more aware and thinking about it. If you do slip, acknowledge it and repent right away, and begin again.
How much do you plan to sin this week? Tell yourself, "Not at all," and then do your best to make it happen.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:12-14).
Dene Ward
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