Math is a foreign concept to those who say “I’m going to do it just this once”.
Matthew 6:13
If bad things didn’t look good, we’d all be the perfect weight, have plenty of money, and our relationships would resemble a fairy tale.
But they do and we’re not.
Think about this… If you’re trying to lose weight and you have to go to the grocery store, the candy aisle is probably the last place you need to push that buggy.
Why?
Well, I’m sure I don’t need to answer that but I’ll do it anyway.
Because candy is awesome and our sweet-tooth is a good negotiator. The inner conversation would go something like this: One bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups won’t hurt me. I can control myself… I’ll only eat one every other day…
Yeah, right… (There’s the math equation sticking it’s head in there.)
Let’s take another example… smoking tobacco. Very few people start that by saying, “Oh, I think I’d like to start doing that so I’ll spend all my money on something that’s gonna make my clothes smell bad, cause my skin to look like leather, and shorten my lifespan by several years.”
No, it usually starts by some variation of a negotiated settlement with yourself.
“I’ll just try it this one time…” Again, misplaced math logic.
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse is part of the most famous prayer of all time – The Lord’s Prayer.
Here, we find Jesus teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, telling us to pray to ask God to keep us from temptation – away from the Evil One.
When I read those words, I’m drawn to the word “but“… as in “but deliver us from the evil one”. In other words, Jesus is saying that temptation comes from the Evil One.
It’s really his main thing… He makes bad things look good. And he knows we’re weak.
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: The next time you find yourself negotiating with yourself on the candy aisle of life, pray that God will remove the desire from your heart. Pray for the strength to say “No”.
And when you open your eyes, imagine the clothes you’re wearing a few sizes larger…
Then, once you’ve got that image in your mind, remember it’s you that’s gonna have to wear ’em, not that Chocolate Bunny that’s about to hop in your shopping cart.
Matthew 6:13
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.