If we love the Lord Jesus and are filled with His Spirit, God will be our God. We won't have idols in our life. Many today have made their bellies their god. "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things" {Philippians 3:19}. This verse describes many in our culture. They eat way more than they need, eat way more of stuff they shouldn't, and have no self-control in this area. Are you this way? Have you made your belly your god?
Our culture spends billions on weight loss programs and food. Fast food and microwave food is commonly eaten since many women don't have time to cook nourishing meals. Soda, which has many teaspoons of sugar in one can, is guzzled down like water. Many care more about satisfying their taste buds and fleshly lusts than they care for their health. Children are getting all of the diseases adults have and are becoming more and more obese and unhealthy.
"Christians ought to watch what they eat. I do not refer here only to overeating, which is a bad thing, but to eating the wrong things. Too many sweets, too many rich things, too much junk. Take a walk through any supermarket and note the space given to soft drinks, candy, packaged snack foods, dry cereals. We could do very well without any of these. Try it for a week. You may be surprised at how dependent you are on them. You might even discover that you are an addict." {Elisabeth Elliot}
"Christians ought to watch what they eat. I do not refer here only to overeating, which is a bad thing, but to eating the wrong things. Too many sweets, too many rich things, too much junk. Take a walk through any supermarket and note the space given to soft drinks, candy, packaged snack foods, dry cereals. We could do very well without any of these. Try it for a week. You may be surprised at how dependent you are on them. You might even discover that you are an addict." {Elisabeth Elliot}
Is your god your belly? Do you allow it to boss you around or are you in control of what goes into your mouth? Do you have self-control in all areas of your life? If you are a believer, you have the Spirit of the Living God inside of you and one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control.
"We are not to let
our appetites control us, but we are to have control over our appetites. (See Deuteronomy 21:20, Proverbs 23:2, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy
3:1-9,
and 2 Corinthians
10:5.)
The ability to say “no” to anything in excess—self-control—is one of the fruits
of the Spirit common to all believers (Galatians 5:22)."{gotquestions.org}
God commands that we be moderate in everything! "And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things" {1 Corinthians 9:25}. Temperate means moderate. We discipline our body for the purpose of godliness. We are temperate in how much we eat, how much money we spend, how many clothes we own, the time spent watching TV, time on the computer, how much we sleep, and even how much we work.
This means we need to learn self-control in all areas of our lives! "But I can't do this. My body and desires control me!" As long as you say this to yourself, you won't be able to change, for how a man thinketh in his heart, so is he {Proverbs 23:7}. Your thoughts and words have a lot of power. Renew your mind with what God says instead. You can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you. You are dead and freed from sin. The power of the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. Look up all the verses you need to memorize and change your lies to these truths and then step into the freedom that the Lord died to give you. Accountability is also a great tool. The family of God should be exhorting, rebuking, and encouraging each other in every area of our lives.
Nichole · 459 weeks ago
Shelah · 459 weeks ago
Stephanie · 459 weeks ago
Stephanie
Jo♡ · 459 weeks ago
ACM · 459 weeks ago
Helen · 459 weeks ago
This is a great post, and an area I am still working on, cutting down on the stuff that isn't so good for me!.
thank you and blessings to you as ever
Helen UK
Kathy · 459 weeks ago
Tamara · 459 weeks ago
Sarah · 459 weeks ago
As I read this I realized that this is where my problem begins. I have believed that I just can't have self control, no matter how hard I try. But as long as I think that I never will. Through Christ I have the gift of self control, from him and not through me, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Thank you I'm going to really meditate on these verses, and spend some serious time in prayer.
Ashley Smith · 459 weeks ago
I would caution you, though, in using the word "moderate" for temperate. I believe temperate is better translated as "self-restraint."
Moderation is used as such a good thing these days, but it can really get you into hot water!
I think of the bible verse that tells us not to be luke-warm (moderate).
Self-restrained on the other hand denotes curtailing your desires for the better.
But a great lesson that I need to apply none the less! Thank you again!
Nana · 459 weeks ago
A lack of sleep robs us of certain hormones which, when they are in balance, tell us when we are full, and remove from us the desire for rich foods. Not everyone comes under the same blanket.
Guest · 459 weeks ago