Ouch! When we are talking with one another we don't like to admit any of the sins that lie hidden away. But up there, on the second shelf in the unseen cupboard, there's a box full of secret desires. On the outside of the box with a word written on it in large letters: "Gluttony." Inside are three tightly wrapped parcels.
The first package has a bright, shiny label: "Not satisfied with how much is on my plate." This parcel is lifted down and re-wrapped several times a year. Usually, it happens on family occasions. The table is piled high with food when suddenly, a quiet sigh hides the emotions. A sly glance notes how much others got.
The second parcel has a very old sticker. "I want more and more." Solomon, who gave hundreds of banquets in his palace, wrote it after observing a guest. "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." Proverbs 23:1 I don't think that person got invited to another one of his feasts.
Written in tiny letters on the third package are these words: "Worried that I won't have enough tomorrow." Jesus addressed this head-on in his sermons: "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'" Matthew 6:25-27,31
We take comfort in these wonderful verses, which I am referring to each day this week. (One day on each of the Seven Deadly Sins.)
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:8-10
"Thank you, Loving Father, for the joy of eating, of living with plenty, and loving life. We thank you that in you we find our sufficiency. In you, there is fullness of joy. In you, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places, and that is enough for me."
No comments:
Post a Comment