Feast!
You know how hard it is to scrimp and deny yourself in order to make it and achieve. Whether it is in athletics, education, or your career, you seek to keep yourself under the bar of moderation so that you might one day revel in accomplishment. Such discipline is the stuff that fuels dreams.
But what about those temptations along the way. “Take today off, you have been exercising faithfully every day, you deserve a break.” Or perhaps it is a financial lure. “Come on, you work really hard, you deserve to splurge a little and treat yourself to this. Buy now, pay later.” It could also be the dinner table. You persist over and over again by saying “No” to those extra bites, second helpings, occasional scones at the coffee shop (oh no, now it is getting personal!)
“What are you getting at,” you say, “what is your point?” Whenever I head out for a business trip, a quiet but steady voice says, “Remember moderation when you hit the restaurant – just because your meal is paid for doesn’t mean you need to be excessive.” Fortunately for me, this has been a little more poignant the last several trips due to particular circumstances in my life, but every meal out presents a number of choices for me that spell d-i-l-e-m-m-a. When I am home and on my own budget, I am pleased to visit a Subway or Taco Bell for supper. On those special nights, we might even venture over to Chipotle’s to split a burrito. When I am on a work-related trip though and someone else is footing the bill, my natural inclination is to thumb my nose up at those simple choices. This is an opportunity for me to dine out at much nicer place. “After all, don’t I deserve this?!” The simple answer is no, I don’t. I am reminded of the phrase of advice from the reference of wisdom, “…but godliness with contentment is great gain.” Perhaps if we viewed contentment as the great pearl prize that it is, then moderation might just be a little easier to come by for each of us.