Dynamic Inconsistency?!!!

Let's face it. There is no woman on the face of this planet - even the ones we consider worthy of the appellation 'goddess' - who is 100% happy with her body. We are always trying to lose a few extra pounds, change this, nip this, tuck that.

We have more resources and information now - books, websites, DVDs, blogs - than there was available in out parents' generation, yet they were healthier on the average.

Although this is a brilliant book (101 Things) aimed at making me more aware of the reasons I should be taking better care of myself, etc, I have found myself eating more biscuits and ice cream between laughs than I have eaten the former 3 months prior combined!!!

The author discusses a concept psychologists call 'dynamic inconsistency' which I think is another way of describing what apostle Paul was trying to convey in the following scripture from Romans 7 (The Message):

^14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

^21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

This is the question I ask myself every time I walk past a reflective surface and I'm unhappy with what I see. When I am closest to throwing in the towel, I remember that there is more to what Paul is trying to convey....

²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

These words give me strength in the deep places of my soul that the finest confectionery can't reach!