Taking Inventory

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it our and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9

I know, I know, it's really too early in the morning for this verse. Talk about doom and gloom. But this verse has been brought to my attention three times in the past week and as recent as this morning during my Beth Moore Bible study. It started last week as I was driving to work. Sometimes I catch Erwin Lutzer, from the Moody Bible Church in Chicago, he has a devotion on the radio. He has been talking about addictions: alcohol, pornography, gambling, and then he mentioned television. I actually shook my head thinking I didn't hear right!

The next morning, here we go again, and he said that if you have an addiction to television you might need to unplug the t.v. Addiction to television-that is crazy! I absolutely love television; my whole childhood can be defined by the shows that were popular. Happy Days, The Waltons, Brady Bunch, Cosby Show, Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, Starsky & Hutch, The Carol Burnett Show, and ect.
I had to take a sick day last week, having pink eye in both eyes, I watched t.v. all day through a haze! It was a news day feast for me.

Oh, maybe there is a point to be taken here. This same verse came up this morning and Beth Moore was using it to make a point that we need to take inventory of our lives. We need to ask God to reveal things that are a problem to us and could be a problem to others if it continues. Erwin Lutzer said these scriptures are not to be taken literally; that's absurd. But if you are ridding your life of habits that are not productive, it's going to be painful.

I was telling Gary last week that we need to get a giant flat screen t.v. with surround sound, blue ray, H.D., the works; and I could feel my pulse racing and my eyes glazing over. He just looked at me and I was brought back down to earth. You don't feed an addiction you ask God to give you His Grace to bring you into balance!