Sweet Tooth?

Really??  What - do you think you're a hummingbird, Mr. Squirrel??  Note how this guy is literally gripping the pole with his toenails.  We have some very inventive squirrels in our yard.  Guess this guy has a real sweet tooth since that little hummingbird feeder contained sugar water -- and, he managed to empty it in just a few days.

What is it about sweets that most of us just can't get enough of?  I can hardly pass a bakery anywhere in the world without going inside and at least gazing in mouthwatering wonder at the beautiful confections behind the glass.  Give me a piece of cake, a cupcake, a slice of pie, some cookies, a piece of chocolate filled with gooey caramel, or (better yet, make that "and/or") an ice cream sundae loaded with whip cream and I'm a happy camper (:

The trouble is -- too many sweets are not good for us.  There seems to be an epidemic of diabetes in our country and sugar is most often the culprit.  In most cases, sugar in moderation is not overly harmful, but when do most of us practice moderation?  I admit, as I was chomping on a second delicious donut recently I was pushing thoughts of moderation to the back of sugar-laden mind.

Moderation is important in all aspects of life.  Anytime we go to extremes in any direction, it can spell trouble -- even in the spiritual realm.  We don't want to pull totally apart from the world anymore than we want to become immersed in the world.  Jesus lived in the world of His day and rubbed shoulders with all kind of people and He knew we would need to do the same so He sent his Holy Spirit, partly to help us out in moderating ourselves to live in the world, but not of the world.  We don't want to be too "holier than thou" anymore than we want to be a good ole gal who plays in the mud of life with the worst of them.

Jesus spoke of Christians when He said, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. / They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. / Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" John 17:14-17.

We are to keep ourselves "apart" from sin even as we remain "a part" of the world in which we now reside.  We'll never be able to reach the lost if we live in a precious castle in the sky so-to-speak.  We'll never go wrong if we look at the life of Jesus and use His behavior on this earth as our guide in our own behavior.  Our goal as a child of God is to look and act more and more like our Savior.  A good start is to study the four gospels where the words of Jesus are written in red across their pages -- beacons of truth for us to emulate by the power of His indwelling Spirit.

The closer we follow our Lord and Savior, the sweeter will be our fellowship with Him and with all those with whom we come into contact.  And perhaps, with the help of His sweet Spirit, I can practice a bit more moderation in my choice of desserts as well. 

I won't worry about Mr. Squirrel -- anyone who can hang by their toenails like that can probably handle all the sugar water they can drink.