I cracked up
when I saw this:
“When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is
before you,
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.”
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.”
Proverbs
23:1-3
We’re in the sea of overindulgence holidays. We’re polishing
off the Halloween candy; now we’re headed into the choppy waters of Thanksgiving.
And then there’s more fun: Christmas and Hanukkah, followed by the reinvention
promise of New Year’s.
My raft is overturned.
Admit it, these holidays are raging seas for our appetites.
We often struggle not to drown in our appetites of choice.
And we believe the lie of the satisfied appetite.
Being this long in the game with my own issues, I’m learning
that, when it comes to our tricky carnal natures, there’s no such thing. When
it comes to matter of the appetite, the name of the game is more, more, more!
And then some more piled on top of that! There! That’ll fix everything! That’ll
make everything all better!
So, we consume whatever, however and in whatever amounts we
desire. But it’s all deceptive; the appetite we struggle with seems to act as a
spiritual barometer. It registers as our chosen God substitute. And, because it
is only a substitute, a counterfeit attempt, at best, it never fulfills us. So,
what’s the answer we choose if we’re not careful? Gimme more!
Still, we’re never
fulfilled, but our souls (our minds, wills and emotions) are still starving!
“Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted
in them.”
Psalms 107:5
You know that aftermath feeling from a family get together
or a holiday party? You know that feeling of trying to summon up the will and
courage to clean the trashed house, medicating that industrial size headache
(and stomach ache) and squinting at the credit card bills? Well, imagine that’s
the reality of your souls when substitute after substitute still seem to fail
to create peace, comfort and relief. And why is it like this? Because, for all
of our planning, shopping, feasting, drinking, attempting to be merry, numb or
obliterated, we fail to keep the main thing the main thing: our fulfillment is
connected to God. Period.
“When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is
before you,
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.”
and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.”
Proverbs
23:1-3
Proverbs 23:1-3, indeed, may sound extreme and grizzly when we
deal with our appetites. It’s by no means, an endorsement to slit our throats.
More accurately, it follows the modern day advice you may have heard around the
way: “check yourself before you wreck yourself.”
Whatever appetites we are challenged
by, this holiday season and beyond, let’s get real with God about them- and go to God with them! He has promised to satisfy
and fill us.
“For he satisfieth the longing soul,
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
Psalms 107:9
We have tried everything else. There
is, after all, no hangover with Him.
Copyright © 2015 by Sheryle Cruse
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