I cracked up when I saw this image, stating, “This is me, thinking about Thanksgiving.”
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. 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.
For, we often 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. Psalm 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 our souls when substitute after substitute still fails 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. 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.
But, 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 Him with them! He has promised to satisfy and fill us.
For he satisfieth the longing soul,
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:9
We have tried everything else. There is, after all, no hangover with Him.