Satan holds us hostage

This past weekend was the big yard sale for the Douglas Adoption Project.  Though it was a lot of work it was worth it and it was fun. There was time to sit and chat with volunteers.  People I don't get a chance to sit with, or talk with on a regular basis so that was fun.

During one of those times when we were slow I observed something during one of our conversations.  Apparently there is one little thing Satan is able to use that hold all of us hostage.  It doesn't matter if you are young or old, male or female, big or small, black or white.  The one little thing isn't even the same little thing for everyone.  That one thing is a number.  The number on the scale.

KC was talking about weighing that morning and being depressed by the number she saw on the scale.  Everyone began to share their scale theories.  Everyone agreed weighing in the morning was the best time, preferable before your shower because clothes do add weight.

I confessed that I had even tried standing at the back of the scale and the front of the scale just to see if I could get a lower number.  Apparently I am not the only one who has tried that.  Thanks Susan for not making me feel crazy.  Chris confessed he weighs before getting in the shower because that weight is lower than after getting out.  Water hydrates you or something and can add weight.  Many of us knew that trick.  And everyone agreed wet hair weighs more than dry hair.

But as I listened to this group of various people I began to realize that most of us are consumed in some way by this number.  A simple number on a scale.

Why is that?  Why if I am feeling good one morning and I step on the scale and it is up instead of down my mood drops?  My self image didn't change simply by stepping on that scale.  My weight didn't change just by seeing the number, my attitude about the number I saw is all that changed.

My image,  my worth, who I am doesn't change with the change of the number.  It shouldn't, but for most of us it seems to have a big impact.  Satan uses that little number to make me doubt my worth, make me doubt if people will like me, make me doubt what I am capable of doing or being.

Romans 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

My body is a gift from God, no matter what the number on the scale says.  I am to present it as a living sacrifice.  And it is holy and acceptable to God. It isn't acceptable because of the number the scale says.  It is acceptable to God because He purchased it with His Son's blood.  The cost far outweighs the number on the scale.  So, lets agree to not let Satan hold us hostage to a tiny thing like a number on a scale.