July 15, 2007

Good morning, it is nice to see the clouds keeping it cool(er) today. Walking through Walmart, I saw the displays of school stuff already. It seems that Christmas isn't the only shopping season that is pushed at a time that to me seems much too soon. The first of August, okay, but the middle of July just seems a bit like torturing the kids. Summer break is only half over for goodness sakes. It seems like I went off about this last year; Walmart apparently didn't take notice of my opinion, how rude of them! :-)

Last night I was asking for forgiveness for my sins, which seems to happen a lot, and the thought came to me that I should call it the "lust of too much". What that means is that often sin begins with a lust for too much. Wanting one woman or one man and entering to a relationship leading to marriage is good for us. Wanting a wife or husband and having an affair is lusting after too much and is sin. When we commit adultery is hurts us more than it hurts God. He is disappointed in us and grieves over our sin, but the hurt is really to all parties involved in the breaking of trust. Pornography, many movies and television shows, and even a lot of advertising is based on that lust of too much. When a person of wealth starts collecting automobiles what happens? You know it, the collection will eventually encompass garages and buildings. In our consumer-driven culture, the lust of too much causes houses and closets to overflow with "stuff"; we have things that we have not used for years, clothes that no longer fit, and furniture that only the pets use. Then we can start in on the credit card debt...

What happens is that "lust of too much" cannot be satisfied, one car (knick-knack, model, figurine, etc.) doesn't make a collection, but two only calls to three, and so on, until suddenly the collection is out of control. Advertisers take advantage of this lust to tell us how much more we need to want and buy. Even Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament, fell into the trap of that lust. He had 700 wives and a thousand concubines, and that is just asking for trouble. Now all of this does not mean that we should stop living; you will still need things and want things, not all of that is automatically a sin. However, we can usually tell when we have fallen victim to the lust of too much. If you find it difficult to pay for that last collectible you bought, you may be there already. If the credit card bills are piling up, say it in your best Jeff Foxworthy imitation, you might be a victim of the lust of too much.

Praise the Lord for forgiveness in Jesus Christ!

Bucky