Binge

Oh Jake, how we love thee.



Those of you who know Jake, in the flesh, know how much we adore this dog. And how much Jake adores food.

Jake has what we like to call "impulse control". Once he sees something he wants, it's like he can't help himself. In the early days, he ate an entire package of Boar's Head lunchmeat off the counter. And now that Phoebe is here, he likes to eat anything of hers...particularly diapers, but that's another story.

Anyway, this weekend Michael and I helped throw an engagement soiree for Fave and Gus at my parents' house. The party included an extensive menu which my mother worked tirelessly to prepare. She even made her famous Southern Living Dark Chocolate Chunk Cake.

Friends, this is the cake to trump all cakes. I cannot even tell you how delicious it is. It is a thing of beauty.

And apparently, Jake thinks so too. He ate half a cake when we weren't looking.

Now here's your public service announcement for the day: chocolate is toxic to dogs. And the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is.

The short story is that Jake deeply regrets the day that he ever tried chocolate, thanks to the effects of two cups of hydrogen peroxide, some other nausea medicine, and activated charcoal. After five hours at the ER vet, we're so thankful that we didn't experience death by chocolate for our beloved boy.

But I found out something about dogs and chocolate. Once they have that first taste, it's like they can't get enough. We now have to be extra careful about it, getting all temptation out of the way.

Which is kind of like those sins that we particularly love. Gossip. Lying. Lust. Once you start, you can't get enough. And this whole situation made me think of something I just read in Romans 7:15-20 (ESV)

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

We're like Jake and the chocolate. We just keep doing what we don't want to do, because we're infected with our flesh. We have to sometimes go to extremes to resist temptation -- but that resistance is worth it. Especially if we desire to be more like Christ.

Anyway, we're happy to report that Jake is fine. He's out chasing chipmunks and birds, and I'm sure he'll want to lick our plates after dinner tonight.