For those of us who love hot, sunny weather, summertime is where it’s at. Once May 1^st arrives, we’re giddy with anticipation, and if perchance May presents us with an 80 degree day, it’s cause for audible hallelujahs.

Today was that day! The windows flew open despite the absence of screens, the hot-weather clothes emerged from the back of the closet, and my bike rolled up from its basement storage. Along with my still-packed beach bag from last summer, today’s beach outing was delightfully July-like. And to celebrate, Jack got started on his annual shedding program.

There’s something cathartic about settling into a beach chair and notching it to tip-back position. The sigh of “ahhhhh” explains the feeling…. or maybe that’s just for us summertime people. For us, any excuse is good enough to head for a sunny beach, and I’d pitch a permanent tent on the sand if I could. But there is a down side.

My skin testifies to how many thousands of hours I’ve spent beneath powerful sun rays at the shore, and the fact that I have my own skin doctor is proof of damage done, amidst the many hallelujahs and ahhhhhs.

Most of us (not just us summer-timers) are experts at justifying the things we love to do, even if it might have harmful consequences for ourselves or, worse yet, for someone else. (I’m not referring to anything illegal here.) We can list all kinds of reasons why it’s ok, even profitable, to spend time doing what might be beneficial in small doses, in big ones. Sometimes we rationalize it to the point of believing we’d be foolish not to do it, and once that happens, it’s difficult to set a limit.

That is, unless God sets it for us.

He might challenge us to take another look at how we’re spending our time through the words of someone we respect and admire, or he could confront us through the mouth of a child we love. It’s possible he’ll stop us by orchestrating consequences that require medical attention, even allowing us to experience an accident. Maybe he’ll simply demonstrate how the losses outweigh the benefits of whatever we’re doing too much of.

Whatever technique God uses, it will or won’t work depending on how we respond.

Some of us plow ahead with doing what we like to do, thinking we’re demonstrating the positive qualities of strength and determination. In reality, being unable to limit ourselves is probably a sign of weakness. But God’s intentions are to strengthen us to do what’s right.

And so, rather than sit under a cloudless sky in a tipped-back beach chair for too many skin-damaging hours, I decided to take action.

I upped the SPF number on my sun screen.

”You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe…. then you know that you’re out of line.” (Romans 14:22-23, The Message)