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Past Thought for the week messages The games we play!
Past Thought for the week messages The games we play! | The games we play! |
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We humans are most adept at playing games with ourselves! What do I mean? Well, take for instance this Custard Slice story incident (also related in my book) My husband, Dave, and myself, both have a particular liking for custard slices. It was a staple part of our diet for many years! But we hardly ever went to the shops with the express intention of buying them. No, it would happen like this... We would be shopping in town and although (as we all know) there are two sides to a street, we always seemed to find ourselves walking back on the side where we had to pass by this amazing confectioners where they sold - you guessed it - the largest, most mouth-watering custard slices for miles around. As we passed by it would be 'eyes right', scanning the shop window to see if there were any on display. Invariably Dave would ask: 'Fancy a custard slice?' and invariably I would reply:'No, I don't think so. But you go ahead and have one if you want.' Now you have to understand the subtle importance of the words, 'I don't think so.' What this means is that I am not convinced and therefore am open to persuasion!! However, a frontal attack in the form of words such as ,'Oh go on, treat yourself,' wouldn't have worked with me; it would have merely kicked in a defensive response from my 'righteous self.' But Dave has been married to me for 35 years (It's our anniversary today actually!) and we both know just how each other tick. Dave is a social eater so this is how he replies (with hound-dog expression for good effect) 'No, it's alright. If you're not going to have one, I won't bother either.' Now, of course, I feel sorry for depriving him, so in an act of selfless co-operation (yeah, right!) I agree to having one, just to keep him company. This is what I mean by playing games and the beauty of this particular game was that we both won! (Or did we both lose? - depends on the perspective) Confession is good for the soul, so they say. So I challenge you to take an analytical look at your own eating behaviour. When you weigh yourself, do you move the scales around the bathroom to try and get the best reading? This is playing games. Do you tell yourself that because of various happenings in your life (stress in your job or at church, family problems, death of the budgie etc ) it would be wise, for the moment, to wait awhile before addressing your weight issues. This, too, can be playing games.Or do you insist that you 'hardly eat anything' when, in fact, were to write everything down, you would realise that you had conveniently blanked out much of the day's 'on-the-hoof' consumption. I tell you, I've done it all. I even told my GP that I couldn't understand why I weighed so much - it had to be an underactive thyroid because 'I don't eat much, honestly!' He sent me for tests which came back negative. Sometimes I still find myself playing games to justify behaviour which I don't want to take responsibility for, but I think it is becoming less and less. Jesus said that knowing the truth was key to being set free (John 8:32) and He will send the Spirit of Truth into our hearts, if we are willing to receive Him. The human heart can be quite decietful, but if we refuse to hide from our own condition, insisting rather that God causes us to 'know the truth in our inward parts' (as King David prayed in Psalm 51) then we are already well on the road to recovery. Just one final word on this: I have shared my own stories with you in a deliberately light-hearted vein. I really don't think we need to get intense about ourselves; in fact I think that God sometimes enjoys the joke of watching us play out our little mind games. He really is on our side in this and doesn't want to inflict us with guilt-feelings which will screw us up even more and send us diving for the biscuit tin for solace! So if, as you read and ponder on these words, God shows you a particular scenario in your own life, do write and tell me - I love collecting anecdotes! By the way, I still enjoy the occasional custard slice! |
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