First Baptist Church of Herndon

Just How Serious

Linda Soller | Apr 12, 2021

I find myself among those who have gained a few pounds during the pandemic. Stress eating, no yoga class, and cold winter weather are just a few of my favorite personal excuses. Don’t get me wrong, I was not skinny before! I know I have some long-term bad habits which make my best intentions difficult to live up to. So, sitting on the couch eating a cookie the other night I asked myself – just how serious are you about losing that extra weight? Clearly the answer was there in my hand, and it was delicious! 

We could all ask ourselves that question on a number of things, couldn’t we? I suspect we could ask ourselves that question regarding our faith?  I can be very serious about my faith much of the time. But like losing track of my weight loss goals as I eat my cookie, sometimes faith is all too easily set aside for something more tempting. Hey, I understand our temptations may not be really serious in nature, but they are there none the less. Who will know if you don’t watch virtual church? Okay so you missed making your normal contribution to the church, you’ll do it next month. That stack of birthday cards you intended to send to church members isn’t getting any smaller. You get my drift. It’s not like we intend to stray, we just don’t take our commitments seriously enough to stick with them.

This week I encourage each of you to set a few intentions. Let’s not call them goals, it seems so final. Just set a few intentions to improve on something, fix something, or take something more seriously. You will need to focus. There will be distractions. You must be prepared for the challenge. Set reasonable intentions, baby steps. In the name of transparency, I will say one of my intentions is no snacking after dinner. Hey, it’s a start! Another is to spend more time reading my Bible. I am serious about both. Just how serious only time will tell. Just how serious will you be? 

Have a great week! :o)

P.S. I promise to report back, but it would help if there weren’t cookies in my house!