Sweetness

I'm a diabetic, so you can bet that I pay very close attention to sweet things. One thing that I have learned is that sweetness does not necessarily mean sugar. And sugar does not guarantee sweetness. Sugar is one form of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates (carbs) are one of the main souces of energy for our bodies. Carbs, however, are not always easy to discern in our food because carbs don't always take the form of sugar.

 

There are many items we eat that we don't think of as sweet or sugary that are full of carbs. Bread for instance. Are you aware that almost all bread contains a little sugar? It does. Sugar helps the yeast to rise, it gives fuel to the little yeast bacteria that provide the leavening agent. Too little sugar and the bread won't rise, too much sugar, however, and the bread doesn't come out right, either. Plus the starches or grains in the bread turn into carbs as our body processes them. In fact, most of the food you eat turns into carbs in the body, and that raises anyone's blood sugar. So it isn't easy to just stay away from sweets to control your blood sugar, you have to balance everything you eat, from vegetables, to meat, to grains. Too little sugar (or carbs)  and our body doesn't have energy, too much and we get sick.

 

Well, did you know that sin is like that? Sin, or the possibility of it, is in almost everything we do. Many things are good, even righteous things, but we make them into something that they are not. Too much of even a good thing can turn into something bad.

 

Sports, either watched or played, are a good, healthy thing, but when they interfere with our church activities on a regular basis, then they are wrong. Watching TV, seeing a movie, going on a picnic - insert whatever activity you enjoy - anything that interferes with your relationship with God is wrong. Even prayer can be wrong if you spend so much time talking TO God that you don't spend any time LISTENING to God. As a matter of fact, church itself can be a sinful act - if it keeps you away from your family. That's how cults get started, and I think we can all agree that cults are sinful.

 

Life is a balancing act, not too much, not too little. Except where sin enters. That is the one place that there is no such thing as too little. Any sin is too much.