Take Back Your Temple reader Tammy Reed shared a powerful declaration she called, "A Farewell Letter to Sugar."
Although sugar was Tammy's life-long comfort and friend, she decided she wouldn't tolerate the "master-slave" relationship it had become. As the Bible says:
All things are lawful for me; but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12
I’m sharing Tammy's letter below with her permission. I could relate to what she wrote and I believe many of us can!
Dear Sugar,
You have been my best friend for most of my life. You were there for all my birthdays and graduations. You were there for all celebrations for me, my family and my friends. You never missed any special occasions at work and church.
I could count on you not forgetting me or rejecting me. You accepted me when I had nowhere else to turn. You comforted me in my sorrow. When life got too stressful, you provided a way of escape. We were like two peas in a pod.
I trusted you with my life.
We were friends that no one could separate. But one day, I realized our friendship had become a master-slave relationship.
You wanted my divine attention. You became jealous of my relationship with God. You thought I was spending too much time with Him and not enough time with you, so you made sure I would turn to you instead of Him.
You promised that you would make me feel good in my sorrowful and stressful times. Your sweetness won me over, and I indulged with you every day and often, many times a day!
What I didn't realize was that you were making me your slave. I lost control over you, and you became my master instead of God.
Then one day, you turned on me. You started making me feel sick. I felt tired all the time. You made me have mood swings, and I was irritable a lot. I had a hard time focusing on my job and lost my fellowship with God.
You had me hooked now. I was enslaved and thought there was no way out. I kept coming to you because I couldn't help myself any longer. You had complete control over me.
But at last, I got tired of you controlling me. I begged God for forgiveness and asked Him to help me to be free. Of course, you gave me a fight. You were not going to let me go easy.
Finally, one day, I made up my mind that I wasn't going to allow you to control me anymore.
I turned back to God, who empowered me to walk away from you. So, I am now saying goodbye and good riddance.
I am not looking back.
You can no longer control me.
Jesus has set me free and given me my life back.
I no longer feel sick, tired, or irritable. My brain fog is gone, and I can concentrate on my job better. My life is so much better without you.
Goodbye, Sugar, goodbye!
With heartfelt sincerity,
Tammy Reed