Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Can You Say SELF-Indulgence?

Monday was a long day due to taking my dad to the ER, though the others trips have been 9 to 13 hours before he was seen, our total time from my house to the ER and back was 5 hours, which includes picking up sandwiches and salads to go at Sandy McGee’s in Richmond. I was so tired physically; I was relieved no one was able to attend Bible Study Monday night, though mentally I was sad.

I decided I wanted to eat chocolate; I didn’t have anything chocolate in the house. I could not ask my husband to stop on the way home from work and buy a candy bar because he was at the deer lease. Far be it from me to get off the couch and go to the convenience store and buy a Snickers Bar. I looked in the pantry; I had everything I needed to make brownies. I don’t even care for brownies that much. I baked them; I cut them in 2 x 2 pieces and proceeded to eat 4 of them – FOUR, I can’t believe it – FOUR of them.

That is called self-indulgence. Hopefully my husband will eat the rest this week. I looked at them this morning and the “siren” of chocolate was no longer calling. I thought about Samson and what a self-indulgent man he was. He was called by God to be set apart as a Levite before he was born. We know he touched a dead animal, gathered honey from the lion’s carcass and ate the honey. He was a prankster, I have the feeling he was very crude. We know Samson loved the ladies and eventually sold his soul to one.

Fast forward to the book of Daniel, he was the polar opposite of Samson. Daniel was offered the food of royalty and wine, however he asked for water and vegetables. He spent much time in prayer. We know he knew the words of Jeremiah the prophet, it is found in Daniel 9:2:

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

Daniel knew the Word of the Lord; he remained set apart in Babylon, he remained in prayer. I want to be a Danielle not a Samsonette. I want to serve the Lord, I want to have a healthy body and be a good witness to the power of Christ Jesus and His power to transform lives.

My prayer today is that I as a Christian am not self-indulgent in anything, but I am a woman who is set apart to serve God and not her flesh. I am sure many of you have prayed something similar, maybe not over brownies but over an issue in your life. Let’s get prayed up and prepare spiritually during this time of Advent for more of the Lord in our lives; for His light to increase in our lives; for His love to pour out of us onto the people we cross paths with in our day to day lives, not our Sunday selves but our everyday selves.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

5 comments:

luvmy4sons said...

Yeah. Chocolate is my weakness too. I bake brownies for the boys and I serve myself the gooey middle...the ENTIRE gooey middle of the entire pan! It is good to enjoy life...but self discipline and not over indulging...a better life...great post!

Linda said...

Annette, I think I can say just from reading your posts that you are not characterized by self-indulgence. You have a real servant's heart and a real desire to live for Him. I think a bit of chocolate now and then is permissable :-) However, I do understand about not wanting to be over-indulgent. I have to work on that in many areas of my life. Thanks for putting it so beautifully.

Wendy said...

Dear Annette - egads! You did not eat 4 pans, only 4 brownies! I call that feeding a sweet tooth or balancing the saddness of the day before.

Maybe you did indulge yourself, but not in a harmful way to yourself or anybody else.
You did not take food from anyone's mouth. You did not even call hubby to bring you a chocolate bar - you made them yourself. I think you deserve the brownies! Just my humble opinion.

Anonymous said...

I am finally making my way to finishing Jack's book you gave me, and I have a indescribable feeling of longing for more of His Spirit--I know one thing--I need to pray differently and most of all, more expectantly. Thank you for sharing his story with me. It has the potential to be life altering. Now, what will God do with it? Or what will I open my heart to?

Cheryl Barker said...

Thanks for closing with part of the Christmas story, Annette. I never tire of reading that beautiful and powerful message.