I work out consistently, and I usually do it at home, but twice a year I go to a gym with a friend of mine named Jeff. Why twice a year? I could explain, but the answer is pretty irrelevant, so never mind.
Anyway, Jeff knows what to do at the gym and I don’t, so I end up just doing what he says. Recently we were working out, and I was on a bench that was inclined on one side. I had already done some presses laying on a flat bench, but this was something else. When I lifted the bar, the angle was so different that it threw me off. I didn’t keep my elbows directly beneath the bar, and once the bar and elbows weren’t in sync, it was obvious to me that I would not be able to hold the weights up. Thus, slowly but surely the bar began to arc down on me. I was able to slow the descent, but not strong enough to stop it. The bar ended up laying across my stomach, and Jeff had to help me lift it off.
I wasn’t hurt, but I did learn a lesson about leverage, and I gained an analogy. Actually, I was slightly abused by Jeff, who–after learning I wasn’t injured–made some unflattering comments about my workout technique.
I did not plan on having a bunch of weights on a bar on my stomach, and I was not happy to be in that predicament. But I ended up there because I let things start to get out of control then I wasn’t strong enough to stop it. God wants us to live holy lives. It is not because He hates it when we have fun; it’s because He knows that we can easily get out of control and end up in terrible situations we do not want to be in. Look at the chronic smoker, drug addict, compulsive gambler, adulterer, participant in an unplanned pregnancy, or porn addict–they started by getting a little out of control then things went really wrong.
I’m not sitting in judgement of anybody as I write this. We all would benefit from loving God and striving for holiness. None of us are perfect; we all fall short in many ways. But if we want more joy and less stress in our lives then we can strive to love Jesus and pursue good things rather than dabbling in potentially destructive things.