Last year, I wrote my tenth recovery book, Recovery Rules. It contains 100 truisms. They are pithy, easy-to-remember statements about recovery. If I could add a 101st rule, this would be it:
What you tolerate today will dominate tomorrow.
If I tolerate staring at attractive women, those fantasies will dominate my mind tomorrow. If I tolerate missed recovery meetings, that absence will dominate me tomorrow. If I tolerate idle thoughts, sexual images, and flirtatious conversations, they will dominate tomorrow.
If Paul had written a book of recovery truisms, I’m pretty sure he would have included this: “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27).
Are you going to welcome the devil into your home and give him a seat at the head of the table? Of course not! And he isn’t asking for that. He just wants you to crack open the door when he comes knocking.
And then it’s over.
Recovery Step: Be careful about what you tolerate.
