It's a day to pray. Do you find that easier to say than do? I can set aside time for prayer--or for study,or planning, or just about anything--and find myself suddenly stalked by distractions. The kitchen that needs tidying. The file sorting that isn't pressing, but all of a sudden seems appealing. Email. Anything but what I've set for myself to do.
And then there's fasting. Ah, what a noble spiritual discipline, always attractive in theory, always something to make excuses not to do. Some from our group are fasting today. And so what comes in with the newspaper this morning? The Hardee's flier with Thickburger coupons. And I'm thinking, "Yeah, lunch!" I love a Thickburger. But then I remember... fasting. Right. And soon I'm strategizing. Rationalizing. Thinking, "I can fast breakfast, eat a Hardee's lunch, and fast dinner. Or I could fast breakfast and lunch and then get down to Hardee's." How pathetic.
It's so easy to be driven by our appetites. But there is another way. Paul says in Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
Self-control. Sorry Hardee's. Sorry, stomach, taste buds, and whatever part of me that was especially designed for curly fries. You'll have to wait for another day.
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