At small groups on Sunday evening a couple of weeks ago, we strayed into some almost strange, but interesting, conversation.....I will freely give a lot of credit to Rev. Christopher Bright--he came up with the steak!!
We have been doing a really neat series: Death & Resurrection of the Messiah Faith Lessons by Ray Vander Lann. We finished it up with the final lesson, Total Commitment.
(sidenote: If you have never experienced his stuff, I urge you to; he travels the Holy Land area personally with groups, and he has so much knowledge but is very passionate about his subject matters!)
We were talking about what gets in our way of making a total commitment to God sometimes....and this led to talking about sin in our lives. Is sin intentional or "acccidental"? Do we confess our shortcomings on a daily basis, or do we let it pile up inside? Since this is a small group, we felt we could share much--and, I must say for me, gain much!
Now, most people really don't want to share their "deep, dark, secrets"....so, I used an example that isn't that "deep", but is a little embarrasing, and helped make a point. So in the interest of full disclosure, I will confess to any who read this.....please don't judge me too harshly.
Several years ago, I struggled with an addiction--to Cheetos. Yes, those lovely, cheesy crunchy beauties would call to me; I could eat an entire bag by myself. Oh, I justified it by convincing myself "well, they're in a smaller bag; there's not that many in there! It would be worse if it were a big bag of potato chips." I tried to hide it from my family, but they realized there was a problem--I mean, an empty bag is an empty bag, no matter how you describe it. One day, I decided I needed to end this--I would make myself almost sick sometimes, even not eating much of wonderful meals because I was full from my debauchery.....I stopped letting them into the house, avoided them in the store, everything I could do to stop the downward spiral. I cannot say today I am cured, but I do everything I can to avoid having a problem again......
After I shared this, we discussed it, and our friend Chris finished the analogy; here it is.
See, Cheetos are "sin"....no, not literally!! But try to follow this....
Imagine that Cheetos stand for sin in our lives; we indulge, secretly--gorging ourselves sometimes! I mean, no one is going to know if we don't tell, right??
We indulge, secretly, and get filled up on something that we really shouldn't. Now, your spouse decides to take you out for a deluxe steak dinner--upscale, fancy, biggest and best cuts of beef you've ever seen! This is the "don't ask the price" meal.....with me so far?? Do you see where this is going?????
IF YOU HAVE INDULGED IN SECRET, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO ENJOY THAT FABULOUS DINNER!!!
Imagine your disappointment--this is the best meal you've been presented in years, and you don't feel like eating it.....
Imagine your spouse's disappointment--you are basically rejecting their best, their love for you; you are not wanting to take what they want to give.
Ok, so "Cheetos" are sin....and "deluxe steak dinners" are God's blessings for us.
Yeah.....think about that for a minute.......we CHOOSE sin and it's consequences, and we don't have room for the blessings God wants to shower on us! This "steak dinner" isn't for one time, but a daily occurence! The finest of cuisine, handed to us every day, and we choose not to partake. It could be steak, or surf and turf, or whatever God has on the menu for the day--but we decide to fill up on emptiness, on things that will make us sick inside and out if we continue.
So....what will you choose today--"cheetos" or "steak"??
I hope you will pull up to that table of plenty, running over with goodness, and enjoy all that is there for you!
