Don't Feed It And It Will Die

Given Fall of 1997
A wise friend of mine, a former elementary school principal, gave a talk to a men's group once on, "The Black Dog". He told of how cute a little black puppy is but if you feed it and care for it, it sometimes grows up to be a big, mean, black dog. That once, little, cute, controllable puppy can become a big, mean, uncontrollable monster!

This story was given to illustrate how a bad habit can "grow" from a small, seemingly insignificant thing into a big, troublesome problem that you can't control anymore. It could be anything: smoking, gossip, porn, drugs/alcohol, lying, gambling, whatever. You know what I'm talking about and you're probably thinking of something in your life right now. At the beginning, these things seem harmless and are easily controlled but as you continue on in them, they grow and can become overpowering.

The answer? I asked God about this and I've heard preaching on it too. If you don't feed the thing, it will become weaker and weaker and eventually...DIE! When you give in to it, you're feeding it and it grows and grows. Now, this is hard to do but think about it next time your habit comes licking or growling at your feet. Don't feed it! The black dog will die.