Beware of Overindulgence

Various passages in the Bible warn us of overindulgence.  Overindulgence is the act of excessive gratification or having too much of a good thing.  One such passage is Proverbs 25:16 which says, "If you find honey, eat just enough - too much of it, and you will vomit."  We all know the feeling, right?  You get a craving for something - a cheeseburger, onion rings, sushi, ice cream, Boba - and the first few bites are great but often you keep eating or drinking it to the point of feeling sick.  Doesn't this remind you of the holidays?  This overindulgence, of course, extends beyond food and drink to other hobbies and activities as well.  

On Sunday afternoon, for the first time in a long time, the family and I went to the LA County Fair.  We saw the farm animals, the pig races, the lumberjack show, and some of the exhibits.  We even went on a couple rides.  Yes, not too adventurous.  It was a lot of fun but one of the things that struck me was the level of excess.  Now I know that's the way the fair is organized but it is incredible how much people give themselves (and their time and money) to eating, drinking, playing games, and going on rides.  I think a big reason scripture warns of overindulgence is that it's natural for us to overdo it.  We often don't know when to stop, and we turn something good or enjoyable into something bad or harmful.  As God gives us good things to enjoy, let us remember His warning in Proverbs.  

Our overindulgence at the end of the night was to get something deep fried.  At the fair, they sell deep fried Snickers, deep fried Twinkies, deep fried cheesecake, even deep fried butter.  Talk about excessive!  Well after praying about it (just kidding) we settled on deep fried Oreos.  Fortunately, they only give you five of them.  And no, none of us vomited.

God bless,

Pastor Darren