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I sighed as my husband and I drove to our annual family reunion and potluck dinner. Images of all the delectable temptations I'd soon be facing taunted my determination to stick with my latest diet program.
As we arrived, temptation began to win. This reunion's only once a year, I told myself. I'm going to relax, eat as much as I want, and not worry about my diet.
Immediately God interrupted my thoughts: What would you say if someone used the reunion as an excuse to drink too much alcohol? I bristled inwardly. Using any occasion as an excuse to get drunk would be wrong (Ephesians 5:18)!
But God wouldn't let me off the hook so easily. I felt him gently probe me, asking me the difference between someone who got drunk and someone who ate too much. Doesn't my Word say both bring me displeasure? he seemed to say.
My mouth dropped in astonishment at this revelation. I'd never equated the two actions! I hated to admit it, but deep within me I knew my excess weight was rooted in sin; I'd allowed my cravings for food to control me more than my hunger for God. It had been easy for me to believe these two behaviors had nothing in common since Christians rarely address overeating as sin, but do address drunkenness that way. Yet both are the result of the same problem: a lack of self-control.
The Allure of EatingFor the first time, I saw my unrestrained eating habits as the sin of gluttony (Proverbs 23:20-21). Filled with this new awareness, I repented of my actions and attitude, and determined to separate myself from this behavior as no diet plan ever had.
Previously when I'd lost weight, I'd felt a powerful sense of self-satisfaction and pride. Not this time. As the pounds fell away, I felt indescribable gratitude and relief, as if I'd been set free from an addiction. This time when thoughts of food filled my mind, I'd pray or think of Scripture I was memorizing, refusing to put food in my mouth until I was actually hungry. Each day I grew stronger, no longer at the mercy of my cravings. Until now, I hadn't realized how much I was driven by external influences rather than the internal influence of God.
Food wasn't my only area of self-indulgence. I soon realized I spent excessively and worked excessively. Excessiveness defined my life, as it does most lives in modern society. It's become acceptable and normal, even considered healthy. We're encouraged to indulge ourselves because we're "worth it" or we've "earned it."
On the surface, I really didn't see anything terribly wrong with this philosophy. I wasn't hugely obese, nor was I in debt from my spending habits. I wasn't on the verge of a nervous breakdown from my fast-paced life. In fact, I enjoyed it, just as I enjoyed food and my possessions.
The harm was that these habits created a barrier between God and me. Instead of turning to God when I was happy, sad, or in the mood to celebrate, I turned to food or to the mall—whatever struck my fancy at the moment. While these things aren't sinful in themselves—not even my favorite double-fudge cake with Hershey-bar filling—the excessive attention I gave them was.
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