My wife and I visited a local Mexican food restaurant the other night. She had street tacos. I went exploring and stumbled into a saucy molcajete. Beef, chicken and shrimp. Amazing.

When paying at the register my eyes were trapped by the packaged desserts. Someone obviously texted ahead. Positioned perfectly next to the slot for my credit card: a twin-pack of gingerbread piggies. A steal for less than $3.

If God had limited cookies to the perfect flavor, gingerbread would take all.  Not having heard the word “piggies” for a while only elevated them in my eyes. I tucked them safely into the driver’s side door pocket anticipating a piggy for an evening snack.

My wife – aware of my eternal desire to lose 10 pounds – ruined the experience by ignoring the cuteness for the ingredients panel. Each piggy lived up to its name: 463 calories. (They were solid piggies.)

The Bible speaks not against piggies of the gingerbread varietal. It does remind us how our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  How God put us in charge of managing these temples. How everything that goes in – be it through mouth, eyes, or ears – shapes one’s wellbeing. 

How too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. How everything in a broken world can be used for bad.

Had Solomon loved gingerbread over honey, perhaps Proverbs 25.16 would read: If you find gingerbread, eat just enough—too much of it, and you will vomit. 

Thanks to a wise wife I had a small piggy leg with my coffee this morning. Here’s to hoping I can get him to last for a week.