SA-GUD

I wrote this on Sunday 8/1/21 at 7 am. (The message I heard Pastor Zack Corbett preach just a few hours later, had me in a moment. One of those special times when you wonder if someone was eavesdropping on your conversation. But then you are reminded that God knows our thoughts, intents, and the words we speak. So, his message was anointed by God for me. My husband can attest to this.)

I must confess that I have been lying about something for several years. It’s not anything that I’m proud of admitting but I’m certain many can relate to this LIE, especially women. I’ve learned that accountability has proven to be effective over the years, but there’s this one thing that I don’t handle so well when it comes to being accountable.

The enemy has lost the battle with most of my worldly enticements, and when I say most, I humbly say that I’m very much aware there’s always different tactics he uses in ways that seem innocent enough or when I feel I have good reasons to justify certain actions, and I fail. These things still test me and try to get a rise out of my sinful nature if I don’t keep them in check.

But to come clean, I’ve told a lie on my driver’s license for several years, and it wasn’t just about my height. I never changed my weight. Well, I did, but not in that manner. It just so happens that it’s forty-two pounds more than what is typed in that little square. This laminated card is one of the few things that give me a reminder of what once was – and gives me a (false) sense of hope – that it still could be.  At least it did the last time they were renewed. Although the scales haven’t been telling lies, I keep telling them to myself. And what pops up in numerical bright red on the other little square on the glass piece I stand on, certainly isn’t going to change without any efforts, or because it’s printed on an I.D.

Some will giggle about this kind of stuff, but if we face the truth, it’s not a laughing matter for any of us. In fact, for me, it’s not much different than all those cigarettes I smoked, drinks of alcohol, or drugs that I used. Gluttony is not “just gluttony”; it’s a sin, and it can also be considered idolatry. Say whatttttt? Yes, that’s biblical! The truth is that it can be a source of comfort in the wrong thing. And since I gave up all those other alternatives years ago, food usually does the trick in their place. Over the years, I can remember one of my favorite statements, “Well eating too much is better than when I ……..” Maybe you can fill in your own blank.

My favorite meat is steak. Although it’s been a while, I’ll tell you right now that I can finish a 22-ounce porterhouse and sit in waiting while hoping – that Lee doesn’t finish his; So that I can. Desserts have always been my biggest weakness, especially if it’s something I presently crave and then immediately make it. If someone stayed with me for a week that properly dieted, they would see my eating habit as an addiction, because some days I just don’t know when to stop. In fact, there has been times that I have been downright mean when I have a craving that I can’t fulfill. Chocolate.  

Was it not a bite of something – that landed us in this mess to begin with? Eating the forbidden caused Adam and Eve to be tossed out of Eden, so we should all know the results of what temptations can do. And wouldn’t you know that it would be a woman that fell for taking the first taste of deception. Do you ever wonder why the other fruit of the trees and the Tree of Life wasn’t enough? Eve reminds me of my issues with self-control, not to mention how hard it can be to resist those things that appear as good. And I’m not just referring to food.

I’m not saying that sugar is evil, but the results of it is an eye-opener when you hear that word combined with diabetes. Withdrawals from a lack of this substance will certainly prove what has mastered you.

If you don’t believe food can be controlling, then I dare you to attempt a Daniel fast for 21-days. Although it gets easier when you go for a while with avoiding greasy, starchy, and heavy foods. Oh, and sweets! It’s near the end that you may begin to wonder why you ever ate those foods to start with. But when day #22 rolls around, what happens is that you usually convince yourself that you will only splurge a little here and there. And then…… it’s so easy to fall back into those familiar habits. If you don’t get tricked that way, trust me, the devil will inspire someone to make your favorite dish and then they will go as far as to deliver it to you and think they are doing you a favor.

I also remember that lie I’ve told myself after a long fast, “This time, won’t be like before.”

Choices.

I ditched social media to clear my mind and after achieving that goal, I was once again made aware of this one sin that has me so entangled that I can feel it physically and right down to my bones: AKA inflammation. And it doesn’t help when your husband is watching all the seasons of the Great British Baking Show (and late at night on top of that). When I watch, I’m extremely overcome with cravings.

What prodded me to share this is from waking up in the middle of the night while remembering something in my study on spiritual warfare. And then it made perfect sense with why I felt led to ask a few people the day before if they had a primary care doctor and who they used. I believe God was going somewhere with that question, because it led me to reflect on why I quit using the physician I had seven years ago. It was basically because I didn’t want to do as he suggested; change my eating habits. Seemed much easier to just change doctors!

Eating wrong foods (processed) or being extreme with the amount will cost any of us in the long run. And eating healthy is not something that comes easy or naturally, especially with us living in what has become a fast food or open the can and cook it quick – with life in the USA.

Over the years, we’ve all heard or read the phrase “Eat drink and be merry”, but I’m sure at some point we have also mentally or physically taken that verse out of context, because the truth is that it doesn’t say “Eat until you are miserable and lazy, and drink until you can’t see or walk straight”. I won’t even share the verse about getting drunk, because that’s a given, but anyone that has diabetes can attest to the fact that splurging on sugary drinks (and food) will affect your sight too. (It can all creates damage.) I believe that in that verse, Solomon was meaning the same thing referenced in the New Testament, like when Paul said, “If we have food and clothing, we shall be content.”

Let me go a little further, with my thoughts. Do you recall in Luke chapter 12 and the parable of the rich man? In a sense, you could say it tells how foolish it is to overindulge. Now this may be interpreted from a different perspective on different occasions but wanting more and more of anything can be quite dangerous. Jesus even said this guy was a fool to think he could just sit around and eat, drink and be merry while laying up treasures for himself. Maybe it wasn’t just about the treasures? Sometimes our poor choices may look similar to this man that Jesus used as an example.

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Do you think it’s possible that we look at scriptures like this, and we twist it into believing for our wants and not what’s necessary?

Do we allow Satan to deceive us as he did Adam and Eve, by convincing us that God said something that He didn’t, or He didn’t say something that He did? That verse above from Philippians 4:19, may convince us that we asked, then God gave, and all the while – we were possibly just purchasing what we thought we deserved (expensive vehicles, homes that are too big, play toys that we can’t afford, etc.) or we helped ourselves with all we could eat because we wanted to get what we paid for (a buffet is a perfect example). In the end, that’s so ironic in the scheme of things? Get what we paid for.

Which brings me to ask: What’s more important: Having more or being reasonable? Being overfilled or being content? When it comes to eating and drinking, do we make it about what is enough or is it usually about what we crave?  

I wonder how many times I am more interested in what looks SA-GUD, instead of being filled with what is really so-good.  

I’m most certain that Esau would have not traded his birthright for a mess (meal) of pottage (stew) had he realized what was most valuable. Sometimes we prioritize what we want in the moment over what we need.

Here’s a crazy thought: Consider the processed foods that didn’t exist in biblical days, and it might help if we were to daily ask ourselves: Do we truly believe that big-to-do company owners have our best interest at heart (no pun intended about the heart), or is it all about the deposit into their business and personal checking account? Kind of like that rich man Jesus was talking about. You think?

Why are we so guilty of being fooled in the name of convenience? Do we really believe that these phrases such as: Lightly Sweet, No Sugar Added, Personal Pizza, Veggie Straws, Sweetly Seductive, Slim Fast, Think Thin, Smart Start with Kellogg’s Cereal, Cage-free, Wholegrain, and Made with Real Fruit, are not just part of the manufacturer’s enticement to get us to take a bite? And they are adding sugar to their products and sometimes it’s used with names we don’t recognize. Why do we fall for these lies?  

~Question: Are you convinced that overindulging is not gluttony? Or is eating the food we crave something that’s more prioritized than our fellowship with the one who supplies it?

~Prayer: Father, forgive us when we hunger and thirst for the things that affect our health in an adverse way. Lord, convict our hearts when we are more interested in filling our stomachs than our spirit. Help us that we may learn to practice daily with finding our comfort in you and not those things that are temporary. Teach us what pleases you when we eat and drink that we may be satisfied with the right foods and the reasonable amounts and not fall prey to our weaknesses and fulfill what we desire. In the mighty name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, amen.

~The Bible reminds us in concerning the fruits of the spirit, and one of them is self-control (Galatians 5:22). And food is pertaining to just one of those matters. God calls us to control our appetites, rather than to allow it to control us.

(For more info on gluttony, look up: Deuteronomy 21:20, Proverbs 23:2, & 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, & 2 Corinthians 10:5)