“’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12, ESV)
In my previous devotion, I mentioned that I got significantly out of shape having gained a lot of weight. There were two major factors in this, overeating and a lack of physical activity.
Upon my wife’s urging, I went on a diet. It was the “South Beach Diet.” This diet was brutal. It required that I cut out all fatty foods, carbs, and anything sweet including fruit. It was then that I realized that I was addicted to sweets. The most brutal part of the diet was in the first two weeks. After that I was permitted to have one slice of whole grain bread per day and a portion of brown-rice.
Like I said it was brutal. Yet it worked. I shed weight like crazy. People in the church that did not know what was going on were asking my wife if I was sick.
So, how did I get into this mess? This is not an excuse, but months prior to this I had broken my left wrist, which required surgery. I was ordered to keep my left wrist elevated. Now, while my dietary habits prior to this were not great, they got worse. You see, I could do little more than sit on the couch to keep my left arm elevated. So, I began watching TV and running back and forth to the kitchen. The routine was like this. Get up for a glass of sweet-tea and some potato-chips, return to the couch. Finish that off and repeat the trip to the kitchen, but this time get some cookies or other sweets and another glass of sweet-tea.
I repeated this over and over, never realizing what was happening to me. More than my body enlarging exponentially, I was developing a habit or, might I say an addiction to junk food. Now while this fondness for sweets and potato-chips was always there, it had never become my master. Now it was. Paul’s words explain the situation.
““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12, ESV)
The entire methodology of the “South Beach Diet,” was to break the mastery of certain foods, the addiction, in particular that of carbs and sweets.
Gluttony seems to be to the one sin we seem to condone. Yet as the writer of Proverbs stated the “the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” (Proverbs 23:21, ESV). The issue is that a poor diet will affect one’s physical condition, and thus their energy levels and mobility. And unfortunately, it happens so gradually that the person affected does not notice it.
What is the solution? Do not be mastered by food. Food is lawful, even carbs, sweets, and sweet-tea. However, is it profitable? Food is permissible and necessary, but it should never control our lives.
Scientifically, it is a simple but complex issue. When you consume more calories than you use the excess goes into storage, excess weight. Certain foods will pile on the calories excessively. I am not saying that one must cut out certain foods, but if food or certain foods become an addiction something needs to be done to maintain a healthy balance.
Now, one last word. If you realize that a diet is necessary, do your homework. I would seek the Lord in prayer about this and then discuss the issue with a health specialist, including you doctor if you have chronic medical issues.
Renewing the Heart 