Pastor Ponderings #187: Appetite

Do you know the feeling of being busy in the house and after stepping outside for a minute you catch the smell of a neighbour barbequing? Suddenly you’re gripped with the realization that you’re simply starving, and you begin to think God is calling you to missions starting in your neighbour’s backyard. Perhaps it’s as simple as coming home from work and catching the scent of onions frying in butter, or the irresistible savor of bacon as a side for…. honestly, anything!

When struck with a scrumptious scent, even before we realize we’re hungry, the average individual is transformed from average joe to savage hunter. There is a singular thought that consumes us – consume the food. Consider the toddler in a growth spurt or the average teenager. Adults only differ in that we have had more time to learn coping mechanisms and aren’t quite so shameless! Food becomes centre stage and the appetite must be satisfied.

Job 20:20 “Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.”

Nothing which delights him escapes him - until he has finished eating. Isn’t it funny that the same smell which tantalized you before the meal can nearly make you sick after eating the meal? The recent aroma of fried food in the house becomes an intolerable stench. After the appetite is satisfied, the hunter is hounded by what aroused his appetite to begin with.

Does the same not apply when we are tempted to sin? Our recurring appetite for our pet sin is triggered by some simple thought, sight, image or action. Our hunger is discovered and the hunter appears. The hunter is shrewd and cunning. Seldom does his prey escape. Yet while the sin is still between his teeth, his soul is hounded by the guilt of another surrender. The sweet inviting smell of sin has become the arduous odor of conviction.

Proverbs 10:3 “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.”

In time, our appetite for physical food returns. It seems the same is true for less innocent appetites. One does not need to derive a guilty conscience from enjoying a meal in moderation. Yet the moral moorings of God’s law written on our hearts make the immoral morsels turn in our stomachs and hearts. How does one tame the hunter? How can one temper a moral appetite? How does one learn to deny what seems so natural a response to the fleshly desires?

Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

Many of your desires are delightful in God’s eyes but are to be enjoyed in a specific context or are reserved for specific times and seasons. Some desires and temptations are simply evil, and they deserve to be chained up and reserved in darkness until judgement. You do not need to be a slave to your senses. In Christ, your flesh can fall in submission to your surrendered heart. There is the additional benefit of practicing what you are trusting God for – victory.

1 Corinthians 9:25 “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

Christians have died to the flesh and are raised to new life in Christ. Reckon it to be so. You can walk in newness of life and need not be for one moment longer, a victim of appetite.