As evening falls, I can’t wait for Sabbath to come. And suddenly, it’s 5:00 p.m., and the traditional Sabbath pizzas are in the oven, and I am one whipped puppy.
I’m too fresh from the world to engage in serious spiritual study. I’m too tired to pray anything beyond, “Thank God this week is over!” Where do I turn for inspiration?
Temptation, thy name is Lands’ End.
Ahhh, Lands’ End, the ubiquitous catalogue with the incorrect apostrophe. The one magazine that is always there for me. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these outdoorsy models from their sway over me. I flip, flip, flip. Gradually I relax.
Is it shopping if I don’t buy? Is it sin or simply weakness? How would I know the difference.
Once I read about a Christian man – a pastor, I think – who tried for years to have his quiet time before he did the New York Times crossword puzzle. Eventually, he gave up. He told the Lord his mind didn’t work well until the crossword was complete. Thereafter, he worked his puzzle first, and then prayed. I assume the man and the Lord lived happily eternally ever after.
So, God, I hope you will forgive my few minutes of wantonness. I mean no disrespect. I simply can’t enter in without first looking temptation in the eye, and then, deliberately, turning the page.
