There are things in life you just don’t ever need to start. When you start some things, you may not be able to stop.
In an earlier bog post, I spoke about having limits in our life and knowing when enough is enough. I used a silly example (eating Cheetos) as a metaphor for serious life issues. . It could also be Fritos which is my personal temptation. Ha. You buy a bag of whatever and you say to yourself; I am just going to eat a few. You eat a few and then eat a few more and before you know it, half the bag is gone. Then you say well, I might as well finish them off, so you eat the whole bag. And before knowing it, you have consumed 4k calories in one sitting because enough was not enough? Ha
Sex, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, overeating etc. are things that start as a choice and can easily overtake your life. Take gambling as example. I have never been able to understand how a person can become addicted to gambling. There you are, losing money, but you are incapable of walking away. The reason I can’t imagine it is simple. I never started it. It could be eating, drugs alcohol or even speeding. The point is there are certain things you just don’t need to start.
I have a dear friend that is addicted to weight and exercise. It literally consumes this person and It is destroying their life, but they are incapable of stopping. It is like a lot of things, you say I will drink this, try that, experiment with such and such just a little and you quickly find out that the more you do it, the more you want it. One more time is never enough.
Andy Stanley had a bible series titled “guardrails” that was one of the best biblical series I have ever heard. His point was to establish guardrails in advance to keep you from going off the road of life. In blog posts before I have used the Navy Seals as an example. I was in the Navy and watched (from far away) those guys train. I am telling you, there is simply no other group on the planet as lethal as the Navy Seals. The question is, what is the first thing they do when they are dropped into the enemy zone. The answer, exactly what they already trained to do before they got there. It should be that way in our life, that we decide our answers and response way before we get there. If you wait until you get there before you decide, there is a very good chance you will not make the right decision. Additionally, the ramifications of those bad decisions could very well effect those around you that you love. KT