You Don't Have to do This

You don't have to do this anymore.

I consumed large quantities of food most of my life. Gluttony was the only thing I knew to use to comfort myself. Gluttony was my friend. It was my refuge. I didn't believe I could stop living as a glutton. I totally bought the lie that I couldn't help myself and that I had no control over my situation. I had a disease like alcoholism. I was not to blame or my plight. This is a key piece of breaking free from any addiction. Many addicts do not believe they have the choice to walk away from the addiction. I can remember going from one fast food place to another pretending I was purchasing food for a group. The truth was I was purchasing food for myself. I am sure the lady at the donut shop knew the dozen pastries I had just purchased were not for my friends at home. She smiled sweetly not wanting to give me away, but I am sure she knew.

I knew no other way then to give in to the constant cravings, the hurt of unmet needs that could only be filled with food. I always believed I was powerless to do anything else. The fast I had begun enabled me to realize it was possible to live a different way. I could stop being a glutton and still survive. God, in his amazing way, told me I was no longer to live my life in the chains of gluttony. Over the next few days and weeks, I would ask God for permission before I put anything in my mouth. I wanted him to guide me. I wanted the food to be for nourishment and I wanted my eating to glorify Him. This is another key to unlocking the chains. I had always eaten to satisfy my own selfish desires. I never took a moment to consider how God wanted me to eat or if my eating was offensive to Him. In the past, my eating did nothing but create pain and destruction. It didn't just hurt me, but it hurt my little son who mimicked my behavior. He was now struggling with the same addiction. I wanted something different for him. I wanted something better for both of us. When I asked God how and what I should eat, He answered me. He would tell me to drink some milk and have half a sandwich. Soon the food addiction that had wrapped its talons into my very soul had lessened. Three months later, I stepped on the scale to discover I had lost 100 pounds. However, it is very important to know that as my focus went from pleasing God to the numbers on the scale; my struggle returned. This is another key.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Hearing the voice of God is an amazing thing. I never wanted it to end. When God told me to start eating a more normal diet, I didn't listen. I was afraid I would go back to the numb existence of my gluttony. I stopped eating at all. I didn't know then that my disobedience and sin was pulling me away from God as surely as my gluttony had done in the past. Alas, I am handing you another golden key that you can use to unlock those chains that hold you captive.

Anything that consumes your attention becomes your God. This can be the pursuit of good health. The pursuit of a career. The desire for a spouse. The preoccupation with your body. This could mean being fixated on an overweight body or becoming preoccupied with staying thin. The fear of returning to gluttony itself can become your god. The bible calls it setting up idols.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4