Thanksgiving has come and gone but one thing remained the same…I still needed to put on my stretchy pants at the end of the day. Ya know, those elastic banded pants, be it pajama pants, sweat pants or those old school gym coach shorts. lol you know what I’m talking about. Maybe your dad would unbutton the top button of his pants or undo a couple notches on the belt. Whatever it is/was for you, it’s done typically after you’ve eaten too much, and it’s often so you can eat more and still feel “good” about yourself.
I LOVE Thanksgiving food. I LOVE Holiday eating. But I’m always STUFFED to the rafters. It was no different Thursday. My wife and mother in law made some KILLER foods. By Thursday evening I was VERY full but found myself headed to the room to throw on the stretchy pants…so I could eat more? Cocunut cake was calling, what was a man to do? It got me thinking. Putting on stretchy pants didn’t change the fact I was full and had already eaten too much, it just made me feel better about putting more food in and I could excuse it cause my pants weren’t as tight. (I know wierd post)
Here is what hit me. We do the same thing with God. We don’t like our feeling restricted…so we just loosen up a little bit to fit in what we know we shouldn’t fit it. “I know I shouldn’t look at this, but it’s just a picture on the computer. It’ll be my last time.” (Stretchy pants). “I know I should be tithing, but if I do I can’t keep my…And I did give a little anyway.” (Stretchy pants) “I mean, we’re going to get married so it’s ok to have sex. We’ve done a lot already anyway, why not go all the way?” (Stretchy pants) “I know enough about the Bible, do I really need to read it today?” (Stretchy pants) “I know my wife needs a break and I should help, but I work hard to provide for this family. She’ll understand this one night.” We make ourselves feel better by putting our spiritual stretchy pants on. Sometimes, it’s just too easy for us to walk up the stairs and put on the pants, un button the button, or undo a couple notches, when we know full well what we really should be doing. Be careful not to fall for the stretchy pants.
Following Christ,
Jeff
