You may know by now that some things are bad for you. Trans-fats for example, will kill you for even imagining that you allow such a vile thing to cross your lips. In some states it is actually illegal to serve up a tasty dish of trans-fats. Shopping for the week has become a course in nutrition by which we have all become experts. Of course you must now read the labels. The whimsical days of nonchalantly gathering your favorite packaged foods at the grocery is a thing of the past. Now that we know, we are responsible. So with bloodshot squints dedicated men and women brave the isles scrutinizing the fine print to see if there could be, lurking in that box of corn flakes, a sinister trans-fat. And I am right there with them, contacts dried to my eyeballs and blinkless. As it turns out, Cheese Curls may now not necessarily make the list of wholesome foods; unless of course it’s the Big Game. In which case, Cheese Curls may actually be a staple. But I digress. I keep a mental running list of the foods I may and may not eat in any given week. And this list is subject to change without notice. The foods I am presently allowed may be banned next time I reach for those exquisite dainties.
But mercifully, there seems to be a balance to life and with balance parachutes in the most delectable unexpected extravagance one could ever hope for: dark chocolate. I was totally blindsided by this. How could this be? Isn’t that candy... the stuff your mother told you would ruin your supper? This is a godsend for the no trans-fat taste-deprived. One could pour over a list of adjectives and never quite describe its luscious decadence. And wonder of wonders it is supposed to be good for you.
Armed with this fabulous news I began my search for the smoothest, most readily available dark chocolate I could find. Such is the life of a healthy eater. And then I found it; Dove. Three or four of these toothsome beauties a day and all is right with the world. Plus, it is doctor’s orders and I wouldn’t want to disappoint my doctor. But with Dove you get something no other chocolate gives you.
Wrapping these dark delights is a red foil with a proposition printed on the inside, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Conversational Hearts candy. They read, “Sing Along with the Elevator Music” and “Hey, Why Not” and “Listen to Your Heartbeat and Dance” to name a few. These are no doubt thought to be indulgences usually denied the individual. One other message I found buried under this treasure of chocolate said “Live Your Dreams”. The inference then must be that eating dark chocolate and living your dreams are indulgences. And I thought, “Is it an indulgence to live your dreams?”
For those who can’t seem to capture their dreams, it may be viewed as an extravagance. But much more of our life is under our own influence than we may have assumed. We have power and responsibility as free-moral agents to take the giftings God has blessed us with and live out His dream for us. But as James puts it: You don’t have from God because you don’t ask God or... “Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re [like] spoiled children, each wanting your own way.” [The Message] Or said another way, we want to consume His goodness without considering His plan for our lives.
But some extravagant indulgences are actually good for us. So discover God’s plan, live your dreams, and eat more Dove. Now that we know, we are responsible.
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