Principle # 4
We cannot fight a fleshly appetite by indulging in it.
Disregarding this principle has caused such great pain and failure for many years. It is also this very same principle that God will bring to our remembrance every time we feel like indulging in any fleshly desire. This principle has done more to discourage the desire to wander than any of the others.
If the truth be known, the failure to recognize and apply this principle to our lives is usually at the core of every besetting sin.
An appetite is a dangerous thing. If disciplined, it can be controlled. If not, it can control an individual. God has given within each of His children a power to control our appetites. The need for food, drink, and sexual satisfaction are all God-given, legitimate needs. However, Satan will twist them into lusts which, when coupled with enticement, lead to a life of sin and spiritual and sometimes physical death (James 1:14-16).
Remember the old commercial that advertised KOOL cigarettes? The ad (falsely)stated that “They Satisfy”. Well if this were true, then we could all smoke one KOOL cigarette and our appetite would be satisfied and we would never need to indulge that appetite again. The truth is that KOOL cigarettes (as do all cigarettes) never satisfy you. The appetite created with indulgence will only intensify. Indulging in any fleshly appetite only makes it stronger, never weaker.
Not too long ago, I listened to a documentary on starving children in the third world. My heart was broken as the narrator explained that though the children were starving, they do not feel the hunger pains that we feel right before dinnertime. Rather, they have suppressed their appetite for so long, that their starvation is not accompanied with the pain of hunger.
It is the same way with any fleshly desire that we struggle with. Whether it be cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, overeating, adulterous thoughts, pornography, gambling, or any other crippling appetite, if we do not feed it, do not give in to it, it will die. The only way to destroy the appetite is to starve it. That is a promise from God.
So the next time you feel that urge to indulge in a sinful fleshly desire, resign yourself to just “skip that meal”. When you skip a meal, you will see that after a few minutes or hours, you have lost your appetite for that meal. You may not skip every meal, but eventually, your desire will starve itself to death and the hunger will be gone. Don’t let the devil tell you if you just have one more cigarette or just one more drink or one more chocolate bar, you will be satisfied.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Principle # 4
Member #: 2265
Registered: 1996-2001
Posted:
245
Name:
MICHAEL BUTTERY
Name:
Michael Buttery
Company:
BMW, CCU,
Occupation:
Splicer,Sweep Tech,Manger,Mechanic
Location:
Charleston SC
Personal:
early 60s
Experience:
~46 years
There is 1 reply to this message
