Office Break-In

Someone is hilarious. This morning I found an ice cold Dr. Pepper resting in the center of my desk. Along side this gift lay another gift - a tiny red button "Heavy Drinker."

I acknowledge being a heavy drinker. I grew up in a part of the country where Dr. Pepper was hard to come by. I grew up in a time before the advent of "free refills." I grew up thinking that 1/2 of a can of Dr. Pepper (shared with my little sister) was a treat. In other words, I grew up depraved.

Today in the year 2006, we live in the millennium of space-age-super-technology. Ice cold Dr. Pepper is widely available, most restaurants even refill my glass as many times as I can empty it. Our modern age is one of great progress.

Now, on any other day I would call this chilled Dr. Pepper a gift. But today it is temptation. Some hilarious soul is tempting me. This week I made a determination to eliminate Dr. Pepper for three weeks. In exchange for regular Dr. Peppers, I am replacing a spiritual pursuit of another kind.

I have figured out that even those things that bring us great satisfaction (i.e. Dublin Dr. Pepper) more often leave us empty in a few hours or days or weeks. The pleasures we pursue do not satisfy. For three weeks, I won't open or even sip Dr. Peppers. Instead, I will open an ancient song book (Called the Psalter) and a classic book ("A Long Obedience In the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson). Would you join me in a three-week training program? Following in the way of Jesus is difficult in a society that demands unlimited refills and instant satisfaction. Come with me on the way to a tap that does satisfy.

By the way, the tiny read button has an ancient passage listed - the gospel of John chapter 7 verse 37. Drink up!