Don’t let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of Yahweh
always. Surely there is a future, &
your hope won’t be cut off. Listen and be wise, & direct your heart in
the way.
Don’t be with heavy drinkers of
wine, or with gluttonous
eaters of meat;
For the heavy drinker and the
glutton will come to poverty, & drowsiness will clothe one with rags. Prov
23:17-21
Part 3 of 3 - Avoid Fat People?
Today we think in terms of fat or skinny, fit or
flabby. It’s always about our looks - looking
attractive. Of course fat religious
people look down their noses at those who would ever drink, and the world sees
drunkenness only as a “problem” or not.
We are told to “drink responsibly” (whatever that means).
Wisdom is different than the world or “Christian”
religions. She teaches us a better way. She teaches us that sensual pleasures (eating
& drinking) are not ‘bad’ or ‘good,’ but as wise or foolish. Overdoing it regularly is foolish. When we envy sinners (those who overdo it),
we tend to hang out with them and rationalize bad habits. Just like Israel’s young people did at Moab
(Numbers 25:1-9 & 1 Corinthians 10:8).
As servants of the Most High, we ought to see ourselves as
His “servant/soldier/athletes.”
Mastering our own appetites means that we can choose when, where, and
what to eat or drink, and we don’t allow our worldly flesh to make that
decision for us. When we eat or drink
something just because we “want” it – we are letting our desires (want) master
us. (2 Peter 2.19; John 8:34; Romans
6:16)
Controlling our appetite is even harder when we hang out
with gluttons. They are constantly
“selling” us food by telling us how good it is, or how it’ll hurt their
feelings if we don’t eat with them and behave as foolishly as they do.
Jesus disobeyed this proverb. He ate with sinners, and was even called a
glutton and a drunk (Luke 7.34). So what
gives? Remember that Jesus came “to seek
and save the lost,” and that he was going to sinners because he was leaving the
ninety-nine to save the one. Jesus was
with them – but He wasn’t one of them.
His mastery of his own flesh was so great that he could go to them and
offer them a way out of their situation.
It might be suggested that a young disciple today may want to visit
strip clubs and save the girls. But
would that be wise, or would he be tempted too greatly while there?
I struggle with gluttony, and when I attend church potlucks
and things like that, they make it practically impossible for me not to join
them in their dissipation. The leaders
of these so-called Christian groups are often fat men who have never controlled
their appetites for food and laziness, and so they even add more of these
events. Without (apparently) knowing it,
these fat, lazy men are doomed and condemning others because their appetite is
their god (Philippians 3.19) and have their minds set on earthly things. They try to make rules to restrict behavior
because they don’t understand that this does not work (Colossians
2.20-23).
Combining the lessons of Jesus & Wisdom, we should learn
this: if you’re strong enough to rescue people from an addiction like drugs,
immorality, alcohol or food – then that’s your job. If you struggle with it yourself, then stay
away from those people! Don’t be foolish. A bar full of drunks has no appeal to
me. I have no desire to be drunk, so I
can go there and experience zero temptation.
But put me at a potluck full of fat lazy “Christians,” and I’m in deep
trouble. So if I’m wise, I’ll defy the
social conventions of modern religion.
If I’m wise, you’ll find me at a bar, a bike race or a triathlon – more
often than you will with a bunch of fat “good” people who tempt me to sin.
What about you? Will
you be wise enough to avoid those who can tempt you? Are you willing to avoid even your friends or
relationships that might be poisonous?
Don’t be deceived: bad company corrupts good morals. Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
(1 Cor 15:33-34)
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