More Than Conquerors?

Posted in , By Patty Kennedy 0 comments

This image made me think of Romans 8:37, where Paul tells us we are more than conquerors "through Him who loved us."

Chocolate fanatics may be viewing this image now and thinking, I can sure relate to that! I'm sure it will generate some chuckles. But the subject I want to address today is not funny. It is something a great many of us struggle with, yet something we rarely hear about in a sermon. Why? Because it has become one of the "acceptable" sins.

By now you may have figured out the subject I am addressing is gluttony. We live in a country where the rate of obesity is mind-boggling, yet too many of us still sing the praises of our favorite fast food restaurants. We feed the high-fat/low nutrition food to our children, thereby training their bodies to crave it from an early age. Child obesity and type 2 diabetes are on the rise, yet we keep perpetuating the cycle.

Those of you who know me realize I am preaching to myself today as much as anyone. I have struggled with being overweight for most of my adult life. With the exception of my upper arms, I am more fit now than I have been in a long time. I generally eat very healthy, yet food can still be a source of temptation. 

Have we forgotten that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit of the living God? For decades I tried to ignore the wonderful truth of 1 Corinthians 6:19,20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Does your body glorify God? Are you fastidious in the care you provide for the temple of the Holy Spirit? Paul admonishes us in Romans 13:14, "Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires," yet we do little to crucify our flesh when it comes to eating.

I remember vividly a time when the church we were attending was preparing for what they called a "revival." When the deacons gathered for a planning meeting, my husband and I suggested we all fast in preparation. We sensed that this could be an important turning point in our church, and we knew the value of fasting.

We were not prepared for what came next. One of the deacon's wives roared with laughter at the suggestion, and said, "Give me a break! I can barely stick to Weight Watchers!" It makes me cringe even now to think of her response, and it's been some 30 years. Friends, if the thought of fasting makes you hyperventilate or become very agitated, that means food has a hold on you that it shouldn't have. And it probably means you SHOULD fast as soon as possible, to break that hold.

We may joke about our lack of control when it comes to food, but God takes it very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that Proverbs 23:2 says to "Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony." That doesn't sound like a laughing matter to God, does it?

It's always amusing to hear someone boast about how holy they are because they don't smoke or drink or commit adultery or (list your pet sin here) -- yet the person pontificating is 5 foot 2 and weighs 300 pounds. That's a serious disconnect, friends. God doesn't even tell us not to smoke or drink, but He DOES address our eating habits.

Failure to control our fleshly appetites is serious because it compromises our spiritual lives. When we use food like a prescription drug to fill some void in our lives rather than to meet our body's need for nourishment, we are leaving God out of the equation. When fleshly desires are in the ascendancy, the spirit life in us is squelched.

I leave you with 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That needs to be our standard.