I find a certain joy in poking fun at our American culture of over doing, well, pretty much everything. Too much eating. Too much spending. Too much playing. Too much working. Really, very little is done in moderation here in America.

We have this habit of taking a good thing to destructive excess. We become obese from too much eating. Families are estranged from too much working. Financial security and opportunity is destroyed by too much spending. Responsibility is forgotten with too much playing.

While these things in and of themselves are (usually) not expressly condemned, they seem to become our disaster.

Again, from Thomas Watson’s insight and wisdom:

More are hurt by lawful things than unlawful, as more are killed with wine than poison. Gross sins are affright, but how many take a surfeit the state (of being more than full) and die, in using lawful things inordinately. Recreation is lawful, eating and drinking are lawful, but many offend by excess and their table is a snare. Relations are lawful, but how often does Satan tempt to overlove! How often is the wife and child laid in God’s room! Excess makes things lawful become sinful.