Too Much Of A Good Thing

This is the second time I've cleaned out my hummingbird feeder and seen the carnage. Nearly a hundred tiny ants who crawled up the six-foot iron pole the bird feeder hangs on, climbed into the center of the red plastic flowers and up inside the glass feeder itself to delight in the sweetness of the sugar water ... only to drown in it. These little ants were drawn in by what they loved ... sugar. And whatever sugar they found on the surface wasn't enough, so they pressed forward for more, not knowing that they were progressing on in peril. Their unsatisfied passion led to their deaths.

You know those pictures of those folks who come home from the grocery store and put 20 filled plastic bags on their arms, weighing themselves completely down, and trying to carry all that and walk into the house because they don't want to make two or three trips? Yeah, that's me. I can get one more bag on my arm, surely. And honestly, most of the time it works. But there have been some losses - a dozen eggs, a jar of salsa, a can of spaghettios. I would lose one bag, food would topple to the ground and some just didn't survive gravity's pull to the concrete. In my greed to get'r done, I cost us money. Notice that greed is the key word there ... the very thing that led to the death of the ants. They were greedy for more.

The lesson there is twofold. One is "know your limits." The other is "all things in moderation." There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. When you don't pace yourself. When you think you can do one more. When you hear the voice inside say, "That's enough," yet you go ahead and finish the ginormous piece of seven-layer chocolate cake.

I had that happen recently with the game Candy Crush. Loved the game, truly. The strategy changed with every level, so you learn to be patient, clever, quick, organized and thrifty. It was a hoot. And a wonderful time filler for those boring moments (during TV commercials, at the doctor's office, when eating alone). But I noticed a couple times when I would play a few levels before bedtime, I'd get really into it and pretty soon it was 1 a.m. Or instead of getting done what I needed to do, I'll just play this for a little while. I noticed it was sucking up not just the boring times, but the necessary times as well. And I knew it was time to quit. So one day, I deleted the game. And honestly I haven't missed it. I knew it was too much of a good thing. And just wanting to get to the next level seemed pretty hollow.

Now not all things need to be given up completely like that, but if you find you lack self control with a specific hobby, food, sport or interest, and cutting back doesn't help, then cutting off may be the key. I can't buy gumballs. If I do, I can chew through the bag of gumballs in one sitting. Chew three at a time till the flavor runs out, spit out that wad and start again. One time I chewed so many I heard something crunch in the left side of my jaw and had trouble chewing anything for two weeks. Too much of a good thing.

It's an issue of priorities. It's an issue of greed. It's an issue of self-control. It's an issue of idol worship in extreme cases. If you find yourself overly focused on something, then it's probably time to push it back. If it's something draining your time and money, you may have an issue. So do some self-examination. Is there anything in your life that is too much? Get it straightened out. Because it could be something that effects your health, well-being ... even your marriage if it is causing you to neglect your spouse in any way. Be wise. If someone else comments to you on it, it may be time to really think about it. Now if I could just convince the ants to back off.

Discussion: Is there something in your life you obsess over, spend too much time or money on? Is it something you can cut back on or do you need to cut it out of your life? Tell about a time when you were overly focused on one thing.

Prayer: Father, we know our priority should be you and our beloved, but sometimes we get drawn away but other interests. We pray, Father, your Holy Spirit convicts us of those times when we may be askew in our pursuits and courageous and wise enough to know when to make a change. In Christ Jesus, Amen.