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BY DR. GLENN MOLLETTE
Most doctors will encourage their patients to not overdrink alcohol. Too much might cause you to fall and impairs an individual’s ability to make good decisions or drive an automobile.
Going on a binge of anything may not be a positive decision. Giving up food for a day will make you sluggish and probably irritable. Eating a buffet usually brings regret. Going to the gym to work out for three hours will just zap you for the rest of the day. Working 29 days out of the month will make you more money but when will you be able to enjoy what you’ve earned? We need fruit and vegetables every day but you can overdo fiber. How much time do you have to keep so many relationships going? The Bible says a man of too many friends will soon come to ruin.
There are lots of scenarios of too much. You can play too much, work too much, party too much, spend too much and even save too much. You can spend your life searching for love and being in and out of love. In the end, you are exhausted and drained. You can spend too much time in church and doing religious kinds of things. What good are you to the world and others if all you ever do is sit in church? Faith must be fleshed out and put into practice. The basketball team wants to do more than just practice seven days a week. The exhilaration comes in playing the game.
You don’t want to spend your life reading about the ocean. You want to go and see and swim in the ocean. You don’t want to spend your life cooking in the kitchen. You would like to sit and savor some of the delicious food from the kitchen.
Life is about participating as much as you can, when you can, and as you are able. We all have limitations but we hope and dream. The hopes and dreams keep us going and trying. When we lose these it’s easy to give up. The cancer patient hopes for a cure and hangs on.
Moderation is the key to most of life. Work some, play some, love some, help others some, cultivate your faith, friends, family and diversify your diet. Yes, include fruit and vegetables and some exercise. Watch some television and news but don’t live in front of the television. Most of the news is bad. The cable news channels and evening news are filled with the bad things of the day. Obviously bad news is what makes money.
If you work 50 hours a week, then take stock of your blessing to have a job. Consider how you might do your work better and more effectively to help your employer and fulfill yourself.
Give some thought to aiming for balance in your life. A balanced tire always rides better. When possible, practice moderation in all things and try to utilize rigid flexibility. An inflexible life will eventually break.
(Glenn Mollette is a national radio commentator, seminary/college president, national syndicated columnist, and author of 13 books.)