Last week as I rolled across the Wal-Mart parking lot to my car I realized a seven dollar lip stick was in my buggy. It was loose and obviously hadn’t’ be run up by the cashier. I’d stolen the lipstick and gotten away with it. I was a thief. My heart began to thump and my face was flushed. I started walking faster while waiting for someone to yell at me. But I was alone in the night, in the parking lot with my stolen property.
Before I got in the car I knew I had to give the lipstick back. Not because stealing is a sin, that should have been my first concern, but sadly it wasn’t. I knew I had to give it back because people get addicted to shoplifting and stealing. Apparently people, even famous and rich people get such a rush from shop lifting a five dollar pair of panties….they can’t stop.
My family has legendary problems with addictions of all kinds…good, bad and annoying. I couldn’t let myself develop a new addiction. I walked back into he store and handed the pretty plum lipstick to a confused cashier.
That’s when I realized none of us should ever try anything we don’t want to get addicted to. Fifteen years ago I walked into a Taekwondo school, now I can’t stop. People who think they are going to try smoking crack just one time don’t stop till they are dead or in prison. I don’t think any tweeker ever thought they’d try meth then loose all their teeth. No, they think they’ll try it once, no big deal. But everything is a potential addiction. I thought I’d try the OMG Sushi roll at Osaka. Now I’ve got a real problem.
If you try skydiving once, you might become addicted and have to do it once a month for the rest of your life because you need that rush. That’s a pretty cool addiction. Cigarettes are not. I suppose even facebook and blogging can be an addiction and let me tell you it’s not really good for your productivity at work.. I never should have tried it. Doing charity work can be an addiction, it makes you feel so good.
So before you “just try” anything, shop lifting, drinking green tee, picking your nose, praying to God or square dancing, consider what will happen to your life if you become addicted. Then spin your partner and dosey doe the night away knowing you’ll be dancing for the rest of your life.