His Best

His Best

Recently, I became acquainted with the writing of Barbara Taylor Brown, an Episcopal priest.  She writes that God loves all of me—every wart, wrinkle and fat cell.  That is, He loves my flesh as well as my soul and spirit.

Hm, you say, “But you haven’t seen my body.”  Doesn’t make any difference.  He loves every inch of us.  And why wouldn’t He?  Because He loves us, He created us; we are His. True, Scripture tells me gluttony, which is a type of greed, is a sin:  Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you.  Such sins have no place among God’s people (Ephesians 5:3 New Living).  But would overeating be a sin?  Does it offend God?  Hurt Him?  I don’t think so.

I am no theologian, but these are my thoughts on those questions.  You probably agree with me that because He loves us, God wants only the best for each of us.  One aspect of being our best is to be healthy.  And how often does the medical industry tell us that being overweight causes cancer, heart problems, strokes, etc., etc.  Obviously, being overweight is not our best.  Medicine continues by telling us that to live healthy we need to exercise, rest, and eat healthy.

So maybe God, in His wisdom, calls overeating a sin because He wants His best for us and His best for us includes being healthy.  The Scripture verse Gloria responded to at the beginning of this month tells us how to do that: “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” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)

So we can achieve God’s desire for us to be the best we can be through God’s power, the power of the Holy Spirit.

                                                                                                            Sharon Witty

                                                                                                            April 20, 2018

Hope in Temptation

“Words are the voice of the heart” is the inscription on a square stone plaque that I keep on my desk. As a writer, many of my blogs and letters gush with the words of my heart. That‘s just who I am. When it comes to eating, my cooking is another form of expressing my heart. I love to prepare a big meal for family, including many of their favorites. I want nothing more than to experience their delight in something they have a craving for.

My problem is the leftovers. I spent hours in the kitchen preparing deliciousness. It breaks my heart to throw away what I labored over with all my heart: so I eat and eat. 

Perhaps your food temptation is something else. Or perhaps you struggle with a different kind of food issue. Some binge, some starve themselves, some are closet-eaters; others are overeaters like me. Food has been a problem for humans since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. But, there is hope.

“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” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

Some things that help me with my food temptations are: 1. Go brush my teeth. I don’t like to eat when my teeth feel nice and clean. 2. Do something or go somewhere that I can’t or won’t eat: wash dishes by hand; knit, crochet, or sew; work on the computer; work in the garden; exercise; drive the car. 3. Remove the temptation from your access: give the food away, throw the food away, put the food in the freezer. “…He will provide a way out…”

If you have suggestions that work for you, we’d love to have you share them with us as a comment, so others can be helped, too. Thank you!

Remember: at the end of the day God still loves us 

By Gloria D. Stewart