Sometime in the 1940s, a radio comedian told a joke on the air (I forget who exactly it was — maybe Eddie Cantor). It was something along the lines of too much of a good thing is like working in a candy store. You’ll eventually get tired of it, but “ohhhh, that first day!”

We all have things in our lives that we like. We all have things in our lives that we like a lot. We all have things that, if it weren’t for health, financial, and other practical reasons, we would do as much, consume as much, or otherwise indulge in as much as we could.

I could probably make an argument that if I could spend the rest of my life doing nothing but eating hot fudge sundaes, I would always be happy.

Once we’d actually start analyzing such a scenario, we would soon learn that I would miss other parts of my life if my lone action was to eat one of those sweet confections after another.

I’d miss watching the Packers play, I’d miss listening to my Billie Holiday CDs, I’d miss riding the Gravitron at the county fair, and not last nor least, I’d miss worshiping the Almighty, seeing my beloved, spending time with my family, and annoying my friends.

If we’re going to be complete sticks in the mud (stick in the muds?) about it, if 100 percent of my waking actions were devoted to eating ice cream, I’d lose my job, I’d get sick, and so on.

Well, it was a nice thought while it lasted, but I guess I need to diversify.

It’s just too sweet

We all have to deal with not having too much “candy” in our lives.

Some people devote their lives to their candy.

A book lover may want to be surrounded by the delightful bound tapestries of life and work in a library or a bookstore.

For some, the Garfield philosophy of “candy, candy, candy” may work out just fine.

For others, they are eventually hit with the realities of needing to deal with customer service (the negative kind), occasional heavy lifting, working nights and weekends, and wanting to have a life outside of work. Suddenly books aren’t so fun anymore.

Some people love sports and want to become sportscasters, especially if they are known to make interesting comments during a game.

These individuals might get a rude awakening to find that the education needed to enter such a profession isn’t all fun and games.

They may get into the industry at a lower level and find it hard to move up, tiring from the grind of their current position.

They may even make it to the big time and end up even more burnt out from the constant travel and workload.

Suddenly sports has become a burden and what they used to love is hurting them.

Too much of a good thing isn’t always just more of a good thing and therefore better.

There are exceptions, of course.

Some people love the Church. Some people want to devote more of their lives to the Church and, either upon graduating from college or during their career, decide they want to work for the Church.

I’m an example of this (and HR didn’t tell me to write this).

Now, can it be too much at times? I think there is a non-sinful way to say “yes.”

I know, anecdotally, there are some parish employees who are a little exhausted, always feeling “on call” at all hours of the day and night.

I’ve gone through a fair amount of this myself on and off over the past 13 years.

The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak, and sometimes, we all need a break, or at least a retreat, but a labor of love is worth loving laboriously.

‘None for me, thanks’

We have been blessed with so many great things on this Earth from the Creator.

How do we know when to start and to stop indulging in them?

You can measure your fervency for “candy” compared to that for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Are you living for your baseball card collection, or are you living for how your baseball card collection can bring you closer to the Almighty or strengthen your love for your neighbor?

Wait, how can a hobby be for good — true good — and not just personal gain and greed?

Does it relax you? Is it something you can share with others in fellowship? Does it not bleed your bank accounts dry? Does it not distract you from your family? Does it not negatively impact your health?

Sports fandom can be a huge example of someone eating too much of the peanuts and Cracker Jack of life.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for football.

This certainly isn’t a knock on athletes, sportscasters, front office people, and so on. I just hope Mass comes before muffed punts, magic numbers, and mid-range jumpers.

On every candy bar, there is a “serving size”. Some of them might seem a bit ridiculous (because who eats one-third of a candy bar?), but they are a good example for life.

It’s not that we can’t eat the candy. It’s not even that we can’t devote our working or hobby lives to the candy. It’s that our lives are not the candy.

Our lives are something greater. Our lives are not what can be contained in a wrapper. The wrapper gets thrown away. We do not.

Thank you for reading.

I’m praying for you.