"Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." Proverbs 23:19-21
Everyone who reads the Bible at all knows idolatry is a sin, but the one sin we never talk about is overindulgence. For someone like me, these verses are especially hard to swallow. I was Valedictorian of my high school class. I have always excelled in academics. These verses say a few things about my life that aren't what you want to hear.
Obesity, as it turns out, is a heart condition. People who overeat have a bad focus in life. Their heart is not overflowing with the things it needs to overflow with. No matter how smart you are, if you allow yourself to be one of the riotous eaters of flesh you do not have wisdom.
Our culture is one that is full of backward thinking. We tend to look at those people who make healthy choices as strange. They are the outcasts. "What do you mean you don't eat McDonalds? Why are you just having a salad? Come on, one piece won't hurt anything." We who over indulge try everything to get those people to be like us. We think they are just being too extreme. The truth is we want them to be like us so we won't feel bad about our own actions. If everybody overeats, then nobody feels bad about it until the next day.
This passage doesn't simply tell us that people who overindulge lack wisdom. These verses also give some results for our actions. What are those results? Poverty and tiredness. Wow. Talk about hitting the nail on the head! Whenever we overindulge, we spend money on excess food that can be used for so many more worthwhile things. Simply put, we are taking money away from God's plans in our life to feed this unholy desire in our hearts.
Have you ever noticed that those weird people who eat healthy also seem to be doing well financially? People who eat healthy have their priorities straight. They eat to live while all of the rest of us live to eat. Money is not a constant problem for them because they are not spending all of their extra money on food for their belly. According to the Bible, there is a direct correlation between our eating habits and our pocketbooks. God wants to bless us, but when we let food get in the way, our blessings are all absorbed into fat.
Not only that, obese people are tired. We lack energy, and that lack of energy zaps the joy out of many things in our lives. I cannot remember the last time I rode a roller coaster (I don't fit). I use a seat belt extender to drive more comfortably in the car. My life is changed because of my size. Drowsiness has clothed me. The Bible again points us to poverty as a result of this drowsiness. You are less productive when you are tired. You get less done. Whether you are poor financially or just poor in lifestyle, excess weight changes how you live. Something has to change!
I need to learn to listen to the words of my Father in Heaven and guard my heart. The condition of my heart should be such that I fill it with Him and His word rather than food. I need to understand my habits hinder the financial success God has for me in this life, and when my finances are hindered I cannot be the generous person God wants me to be. I must see the effects my weight has on my life so I can reclaim the things that are mine. Wisdom from God will allow me to do this.
Father, forgive me for my lack of wisdom. Help me to guard my heart as I seek to worship you wholly. Grant me the success I need to live out the life you have for me. Allow me to break these habits so that I can be clothed in Righteousness rather than drowsiness. Father, thank you for loving me. All these things I ask in the name of your only son. Amen
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