Hoarders get their own TV show. Commercials woo spenders throughout the channels. All the while, a hybrid beast lurks in the shadows. This creature remains under Hollywood’s radar. Ad companies and reality shows fail to exploit…the squandering hog.

If I didn’t know better, I’d assume rarity played a role in delaying its identification. You won’t find the squandering hog on the endangered species list, however. Commonness has proven an effective form of camouflage.

The squandering hog blends into populated areas, but can take refuge in secluded dwellings. The creature discards its valuables on mud and hoards worthless materials. Chaff, lint, and dust disintegrate when hoarded and the precious metals rust. The beast destroys resources needed by our world. A menace to mankind, this invasive species demands our intervention.

I must report this information will not appear in scientific research. Don’t bother googling the term, since I arrived at none of these conclusions through the work of academic institutions. I am well informed of the squandering hog’s habits and hiding techniques because I am one.

I squander my time and gifts in muddy television viewing and online window shopping. I complete my kids’ chores for them and fuss over a load or two of laundry, while writing time ticks away from the edge of my computer screen. Store clerks recognize me, since I make repeated trips each week to acquire unlisted items. I make appointments, manage accounts, oversee tasks. Grunt-like thoughts root around my head to instill the madness of squandering. I must do these things, I tell myself. No one else will. It’ll be awful if this doesn’t get done. After all, it’s not like I make the most money…

Squandering fatigues me. My body, heart, and mind sag. Weariness intensifies when it lacks spiritual purpose. In the midst of emptiness, I seek pampering. Resting in the Lord would renew and redirect my soul, but when rest deteriorates to self-indulgence, my snout appears. Hoarded possessions and food rot, but when I’m stingy with time and energy, they stink to high heaven.

Sound like a hopeless situation? Not at all. The apostle Paul experienced a similar dilemma. In Romans 7, he writes, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

I am undergoing treatment for my squandering hog condition, and expect Christ to transform me into a new species. The process seems slow sometimes, but the Physician deserves my confidence and patience. My body, mind, and soul lay in His expert hands. I believe in His perfect work, and one day no one will recognize me as a beast, not even me.

Any other squandering hogs out there? I can recommend a Great Physician…