I think the atoms that make up the mattress of my bed have the strongest nuclear force in the entire world. At least, they have quite a hold on me. I call this phenomenon "the bed magnet."
Every day, it takes a tremendous amount of willpower on my part to resist the pull of the bed magnet, although I have noticed on certain days, like Saturday, it has significantly less power.
There are always going to be forces working against us in this world. For others, it might not be the bed magnet.
- It might be a spouse who buys junk food when we're trying to eat healthier.
- It might be a relative or co-worker who smokes around us when we're trying to quit.
- It might be the bitterly cold, windy weather that arrives just as we're planning an outdoor run.
- It might be those donuts on the table at the church's social hour.
My husband preached a sermon today and in one part of it, he reminded us that laws are there to be guidelines. If we do this, and this, and this - for a long enough time - it shapes or changes our behavior.
Many of us have a list of the things we need to do. Maybe it's a mental list or maybe it's a physical list that you have written down. It's kind of like "the law" for us. Our world often tells us that rules are oppressive things. We have to ignore what the world tells us! If we follow the steps half-heartedly, it's all too easy to fall back into our old habits. We have to instead keep the "spirit of the law" in our hearts, so we are more likely to succeed.
I don't like getting up in the morning, but I do. I could look at this two ways:
If I don't get up and go to work, I'd get fired.
or
I get up and go to work because I am good at my job and I can help people by doing it.
Getting up because of reason #2 is definitely a nicer way to start my day, and I think my positive days outnumber the negative ones.
So... perhaps the force of my bed magnet is strong, but I am stronger. This goes for all of us.
May the force be with you!
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