The Good Is the Enemy of the Best

Sometimes (well, most of the time) when people tell me their dreams, I stop listening right after the "I dreamed" part. I do this because I know it's not going to make any sense, and I'm never going to have to remember it. (I might listen if it's an entertaining dream that includes volcanoes and/or murder.)

That being said, I'm going to write about some dreams that I had. You are perfectly welcome to stop reading after the words, "I dreamed."

A few nights ago, I dreamed that a demon had a stranglehold on me. While it had me in its clutches, it was mocking me, telling me that it had me right where it wanted me. It said I could never get away. As it spoke, its face and voice continuously changed to the faces and voices of people I knew. It seemed to be saying that in my life, it didn't appear as a demon: it appeared instead as something good and pleasant that I enjoyed, but behind the pleasantness, it had me hooked.

It has often been said that the good is the enemy of the best, and I believe this is true. I've been thinking lately about the way I spend my time and wondering if perhaps I am letting the demons win by neglecting important tasks and relationships for more pleasurable activities. The other activities aren't wrong in themselves; but because they are taking up time I should be spending in prayer, Bible reading, and relationship building, maybe they are tools of Satan.

I promise I don't think that all my dreams have meaning. However, I do think that once in a while, what I am consciously or subconsciously thinking about can come through loud and clear in a dream. At times, I think they are worth paying attention to.

So my dream last night? I dreamed I had a newborn baby boy and that I was teaching math at the elementary school. I still haven't figured that one out. ;-)