"and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony." - Proverbs 23:2
Scott H. Bowerman is the pastor of The Hilton Presbyterian Church in Newport
News, Virginia. Describing himself as a "recovering glutton," he once weighed
265 pounds. He writes: "For years I'd tried to lose weight but never got to the
root problem - self-control over my appetite. This time I figured maybe I needed
some supernatural help. So I began praying for discipline and self-control. God
answered that prayer. I found the discipline to begin exercising - walking, then
jogging, then running, up to twenty-five miles a week. But what was even more
remarkable was the inward change that took place. I learned when hunger struck
to think of it in a positive way, almost visualizing my body burning off fat. I
learned even to find joy in denying my body what it craved. I learned to focus
on mealtime less as a time to feed my physical cravings and more as a time to
enjoy the company of others. But most important of all, I began to regard my
body as my servant, not my master. And in about a year I lost 75 pounds. I say
all this not to boast, but to say there is help for us gluttons through the
power of the Spirit. Jesus in our reading spoke about "spiritual food" that
sustained him despite hunger. That food was to do God's will. And that same food
is available for us."
Are you disciplined in your eating? Today in prayer, give any lack of
self-control to Christ and look to Him to sustain you.
"Gluttony is more than overeating. The temptation of gluttony is to try to find
fulfillment in life from consumption: consumption of food or drink, or the
consumption of things. Gluttony takes the form of materialism when we reach for
material possessions as the source of human fulfillment." - R. Charles Grant
God's Word: "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on
meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in
rags." - Proverbs 23:20-21
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2002, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN PROVERBS
pkennedy@devotional.com
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