I was sick Friday night, which I guess really means early early Saturday moming. Because of that I didn't sleep well and kept getting up. The leftover I have today to remind me of the event is just a little pain in my feet, since I suffer from gout. Joy.

I don't know if you should feel sorry for me or not. The whole thing was self-inflicted. I like crispy fried chicken from a fast food place that has a general or a major or something like that out front. However, it's my mind that likes the chicken, the rest of me is not so happy about it. That's not quite right either, to be fair my eyes and mouth like it, too. Once I eat it, though, oh boy. I get sick.

This may not make any sense to you, or it may be much too close to home. It seems to depend on your age. I mean, kids will eat candy until they turn green, and they would happily do it (if you'd let them!) over and over. They just don't get it. Grownups, especially older ones, try to eliminate certain things like fat from their diet, but often times they miss the taste of a good, well-cooked hamburger or BLT with mayo. After not eating any fat for a long time, then suddenly shocking their system with a barrage of it, they know pretty much how I feel. They get an upset stomach and may even vow to never do that again. But will they?

If that's not a whole lot like sin I don't know what is. It looks good, it tastes good, and we want it. But after we have some, ack! The results are terrible. We may end up physically hurt, or it may just be mentally scarred or spiritually sick. We feel unhealthy, and it's hard to rid ourselves of it. We are at the mercy of the consequences, and the damage to ourselves or our reputation or even our effectiveness as a servant of God may be tarnished and sickly until a long time passes, if we ever truly recover what we lost at all.

Like the chicken, it is self-inflicted. Sin is the loss of self-control. We may want to blame the devil, and indeed he may be right there happily handing you the paint cans while you spray graffiti on your soul. I bet he even helps hold the ladder steady so you can do a "good" job. But it was all you that trashed yourself.

I do feel sorry for people who do this, maybe because I have a generous amount of understanding for them. I at least am not compulsive about the chicken, I get it maybe once every other month or more, so I "forget" how bad it can hammer on me. We simply have to watch out for sin working on us in the exact same way. If sin was not desirable, like putting your hand on a stove, it would be easy to do it once, say ouch, and never do it again. Who wants to burn their hand? But sin is attractive, alluring, and while it does burn and hurt after time we may think it wasn't that bad or that it was a little thing. We rationalize that the pain is worth the fun. See, I never really "forget" the chicken will make me sick. I just kind of minimize in my mind how bad I will be sick. Somewhere along the way the bad gets smaller than the desire to chow it and I give in. But ask me today and I would say no way! The hassle is sharply in my mind, and it is not worth it!

Now, just because I am suffering from something doesn't mean there's nothing I can do about it. I could take a little Pepto, or some aspirin, or maybe try to eat a whole lot more sensible today and from now on. If it's really bad I could go see a doctor. The thing is, I don't have to sit here helpless and just wait for it to go away, or think there is no escape. And if you've let sin in your life and you're sorry about it, there are things you can do, too. Prayer is a great place to start. When you give in to self desires, you should suck it up and take the blame for what you've done. Try to undo whatever you can manage to, if it's possible. Damage to your reputation may be forgotten in time, bm honestly some things even time won't erase.

Feel sorry for me? Well, I'm just not able to eat a particular kind of chicken, so yes you can feel bad for me if you want. There are a whole lot of other things I can eat, though, things that won't hurt me at all. You might just wish I'd give that chicken up and quit making myself sick - after a while you would probably be annoyed if I continued to be silly. But there's nothing silly about wallowing in sin. I feel sorry for you if you have it! If you've got sin in your life and haven't felt the consequence yet, well, if you wait too long it won't just be that chicken that gets fried!

Randy