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 Over-eating
becomes an occupational hazard for preachers — especially for
those in meeting work — so when our hostess asked if she might
serve a late-night snack I replied with emphasis, "I
couldn't eat a thing!"
"We
have some rolls," she coaxed. "Not a thing — not a
thing," I said, with a firmness of which I was proud.
'What
about a piece of pie? Cheese and crackers? A cup of
coffee??" And I became more obstinate, "Please, I
do not want any thing to eat!!"
And
then she said, 'We have a big freezer of home-made peach
ice-cream!"
Well,
everybody knows that homemade peach ice-cream is not a
"thing" — it is a spirit. We had some
homemade peach ice-cream.
Later,
painfully reflecting upon my vices — (resolutions come easiest
following indulgence — a drunkard makes his finest resolutions
while his head throbs and the "bite" lingers) — I
tried to analyze the situation. Where did I go wrong — how can
I strengthen my defenses?
The
hostess — she is very helpful now.
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that the damage is done — says this
just points up the basic difference in the viewpoint of men and
women. "A woman would just shrug her shoulder and say,
"I have changed my mind; I'll take some ice-cream."
But no! A man must rationalize. A man must justify his former
position. All that stuff about "home-made peach ice-cream
is not a "thing" — it is spirit" --
Really!!"
You
will notice that with either sex she manages to get her way —
they eat the homemade peach ice-cream.
On
the other hand, maybe this (wouldn't you know it) skinny little
hostess has a point. The human race is filled with
self-justifying individuals, determined to satisfy their
appetites for food, drink, pride, and their own way in the
church, who would "bust a hame" before they would
admit they were wrong, or had changed.
There
is no easy way to reduce — or to solve other life
problems. If they were easy to conquer they wouldn't be
problems. The church grows fat with worldliness because brethren
think they can be Christian soldiers without fighting the good
fight. Sunday resolutions are nullified by weekday snacks
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