There are many times in life we can all say we have had a few to many.
A few too many drinks, dates with the wrong person, splurges and regrets.
But there are things we all do in obsession maybe even without realizing it. Just one more cookie. Maybe one more little white lie, if no one knows then is it really lying. One more diet pill. One more one more one more.
Now sometimes this is good. One more mile, one more set, one more crunch. One more kiss, hug, thank you and I love you.
But anytime one more crosses the line to obsession it's no longer healthy. We all know The big bad no-no's: Drugs, Alcohol, Porn, Gambling, Lying, Food and Cheating
The thing that made me think hard in church today was the little things we don't think about. Smartphones, computers, work, co-dependency, sports, credit cards, control.
I've had my fair share of obsessions in my life at some point or another:
Alcohol. Even though I would not drink for months at a time just so I knew I was in control I still drank a lot when I did.
Working Out. That came first before anything else for a long time in my life.
Work. Work-a-holic I was. Til about 2004. No more.
Football/fantasy football- reading, memorizing stats, studying, watching, trading, etc. I mean during football season this was all I did after my workout and with or without a beer or 6. This year goes to show that is no longer the case. Some weeks I completely forgot about the sport.
Most of my vices these days are small, simple, and easily fixed.
Coca cola (gotta kick it)
iPhone (maybe Ill give my phone up a few hours a day or even 1 day a week.)
Others not as easily fixed...
Control. I used to be a control freak too. Not really that much anymore unless I get fixated on controlling something. Now I try to just take action and whether or not I end up being in control doesn't matter. I am however guilty of being a control freak when I do take control. For the most part in my old age I don't care enough to be a "freak" about anything.
Temper. Most days my temper is as calm and cool as a summer breeze. BUT and I mean BUT there ARE days where my calmness and ability to brush things off disappears and my temper shows. I do not like this but my temper isn't somethng that grinds away at me daily. It does come and go every once in a while.
There is one BIG one that I focus on and that is because of my kids. Lying. My dad made it very clear that lying was NOT ok and I am an "honest to a fault" kind of person because of him. Yes Ive lied, yes I've fibbed and no there is not a difference between those two. I'm terrible at lying. I hope that I can show Madison and Deacon what living in an honest household is like. That way they are not comfortable with lying or fibbing and grow up being honest kids too. People argue all the time by saying "its just a little white lie" or "what they don't know won't hurt them"....whichever way you cut the lie its still a lie. I lose sleep at night if I've lied and I know WAY too many people that don't. Its sad that we talk about couples that lie to one another in church. The little stuff too. If you lie about stupid stuff that has no purpose you will likely lie about the big stuff that hurts. Have I done it, yes. Do I regret it, yes. All in all I can't thank my dad enough for teaching me how important it is to be truthful.
As I move forward in my improvements in my life I will be trying to improve the bad habits and reduce the "few too many" items.
I'll continue to work on my issues and hopefully I can improve myself.
