Food for Thought

I was thinking today about the sin of gluttony, and wondering just what the nature of that seemly most abstract of sins was. We do not often think (at least, not if you are like me) about this particular sin, because it is not mentioned often in the Bible. It is not even listed directly among the ten commandments. So I started asking myself why it was a sin in the first place...well, other than the fact that God has decreed that it is.

In the past, and I suppose presently to some extent, it has been a sin that has affected me greatly. Only one short year ago I allowed myself to gain a lot of weight, and at one point I even peaked three hundred pounds. So I started envisioning exactly what I thought and experienced whenever I allowed myself to eat in excess. Then I realized suddenly that the very concept of "allowing myself" to eat that way summed up the very nature of gluttony. It is a sin of jealousy ...we allow ourselves to covet it. This is pure greed. Wanting more than what our bodies need, even after our stomachs...organs designed by our Heavenly Father to serve our bodies...tell us that we should stop.

I also realized that the Bible speaks about gluttony in somewhat more subtle terms in a few other places in Scripture.

NKJ 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

NKJ Proverbs 26:15 "The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth."

I was convicted greatly by these passages, that exercise itself is commanded in Scripture. The "lazy man" buries his hand in the bowl. Especially by the concept that our bodies themselves are temples of the Holy Sprit...I realized that my temple was full of trash.

So I decided to do something about it. I started working out, no diet pills, no special "no carb" diets, just good old fashioned exercise coupled with eating less food only when I was hungry and stopping when I was full. I say this not to brag, but because I really believe now that simple exercise and decreasing food intake is the Biblical mandate for weight loss. Why do I think that? Becuase really, when you think about it, exercise also prepares our bodies to work more efficiently...and work is another concept that is clearly mandated in Scripture.

NKJ Genesis 4:12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you."

Not only does this passage indicate that it is a matter of "when" on "if" we shall work, but that when we do, that work will be difficult to accomplish. So in my opinion, what is the best way to prepare for physical service to the kingdom? With a good solid training program...and enough will power to resist eating when we don't need to.

But those are just my thoughts...what are yours?