I’ve written before that I enjoy working the Friday meta crossword puzzle in the Wall Street Journal and that sometimes solutions come quicker than others. But what happens when they don’t come? This week’s has been particularly frustrating because I can see all the hidden words I’m supposed to see, but I can’t tease an answer out of them.

The problem then is that I devote too much time to it. As I write this Saturday morning, I’ve been messing with the puzzle since Thursday afternoon. Too much. And it interferes with other things I should be doing. So I’m taking another sabbatical from these things. I’ve done it before. I just don’t look at them for weeks or months. Sometimes moderation isn’t possible. I just have to quit.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (Galatians 5.13, NLT)

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. (1 Corinthians 6.12, NLT)