Guilt Trip

Guilt is a funny ol' thing.
It's supposed to be there to let us know when we've done something wrong, right? My friend asked me the other day if I thought guilt was from God. She'd heard a Christian speaker say that it is not. I think it's probably like everything else in this fallen world - created by God for a good purpose, and then messed up by the Enemy. And us.

My other friend and I were also discussing how we live in a perpetual state of guilt - a hamster wheel of guilt over things done or not done, guilt over inner attitudes, and then the guilt of just being ever so bad. And then guilt over feeling so guilty. I'm thinking we've both gotten our God-given Guilt Mechanisms a little tightly tuned. Here's a list of the top ten things I feel weekly, if not daily, guilt about, in no particular order:

1)not getting enough work done! Oh the slovenliness!
2)eating too much
3)not phoning family members often enough
4)not making my kids clean up their rooms (the slovenliness passes to the next generation!)
5)reading my book(s)
6)staying up too late watching a movie
7)procrastinating
8)thinking nasty things (usually vile swear words like "bloody" or "bugger", or rehearsals for imaginary arguments)
9)feeling unreasonable guilt
10)something to do with the kids' school work.

Now, I can almost hear certain peoples' opinions about my list - a)"I feel guilty about those things too!" b)"You should absolutely feel guilty for those things! Shame on you!" c)"Oh for crying out loud! There is nothing wrong with any of those things! Stop feeling guilty!"

There must be a balance in there somewhere. I mean, most of those things that I feel guilt for NOT having done, the reason I've not done them is because I hate doing them so much that it outweighs the discomfort of the guilt. Not all, but most. Like the housework. Man I hate housework. I wonder how I got myself into a life comprised of so much sweepingwashingdustingdryingwipingcleaningscrubbingpolishingfoldingtidyingmoppingvacuuming... Ah, the things they don't tell you in guidance councelling in high school. And when I feel bad for eating something, it's because I'll feel far more SAD if I don't eat it. Like a huge bowl of popcorn when I'm distressed. Comfort food to the tenth power. But then that guilt certainly removes a certain percentage of the pleasure factor.
And maybe that's part of it - the Enemy assuages us with inappropriate guilt in order to stop Joy. Case in point, just now I gave my purring lap cat an extra cuddle, thought how nice to be sitting in my comfy robe, drinking excellent coffee, being creative, with a happy purring cat-on-lap, and into my head came screaming "For Shame! Look at the dirty dishes!!" and the joy ran sobbing away. (Also, the cat-from-Satan sensed this interplay, bit me, and also ran leaving a cloud of shed hair.)
Speaking of guilt, there are certain things that I probably should feel guilty about, but don't. Like shooting cute furry animals. Even shooting animals I'm not supposed to. Thankfully Hubbykins is also affectionately known as The Legal Beagle, so he keeps me on the straight and narrow, meaning our deepfreeze is nearly empty instead of filled with tender whitetail doe meat and fawn chops. Of course, that annoys me, which then fills me with guilt over being annoyed that I'm prevented from breaking provincial law. Now I'm hungry and guilty. And annoyed.
See what I mean about the hamster wheel?

So, does anyone have an answer to this dilemma? Is there a solution? Should I simply obey the guilt, and magically find fulfillment in these mundane tasks that I avoid? Or, if I was able to do or undo every guilt-causing thing on my top ten list, would I just find more things to feel guilty about? Perhaps there's a clear difference between Good and Bad Guilt, and I'm just missing it.

Well, I leave it up to you, my readers. Although, you've let me down sadly re. the perfect peeler. I'm still on that quest, with very little helpful input. I hope you all feel guilty for not stepping up to the plate there.