“It is not ok to eat too much”

Proverbs 23:20-21 Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.

Verse Reflections:   Once again, God is sending a clear message.  He is sending a karate chop into our comfortable life to break the boards in half.  It is not okay to eat or drink too much.  We rationalize, we excuse, we celebrate and we cry in our glasses and in our plates.  I have a very good friend who just got released from their job.  You are probably thinking it is because they must have been underperforming, not good at what they do.  Actually, this person is a professional, with a rare talent that their workplace needs.  However, this person also has a problem with alcohol.  I have watched this person and have seen this coming for ten years now.  The alcohol addiction just caught up with their professional life and I truly worry that this person will “come to poverty”.  We can take our addiction to food to the same level and God is warning us of this possibility in this verse.  If I put on my robe of comfort in life allowing myself to gain thirty pounds I have problems with my hip or knee.  If I take the robe off, make uncomfortable choices, I lose it and the pain goes away.  Every ten pounds puts 40 pounds of pressure on our joints.  Our weight, our lack of nutrition can send us to the doctor over and over again.  We can tear muscles, create back pain, cause stress fractures, cause heart attacks, destroy our pancreas function and cause diabetes.  What are we thinking?  We can down wine or gorge on food to avoid emotions or “relax” rather than finding our relaxation through our souls, activities, our relationship with God.  We can destroy our bodies, our bank accounts, our relationships through our eating and drinking patterns.  Stop.  Right. Now.  Stop.  You can change.  We will change NOW.

Prayer:  Father, You have given me so much.  Do not let me take it for granted.  Allow me not to be gluttonous.  Give me the strength to treasure the money, the body, the clothing You have given me.  I do not take for granted being able to fit in my clothes.  I do not need to spend money to buy new ones.  I need to treasure my health, my bank account enough to fit in the clothes I have.  I need to make sure that gluttony does not increase my health insurance to the point I can’t afford it or my employer can’t afford it.  I need to make sure the trips to the doctor do not become too frequent for me to afford.  Help me want to eat healthy so that I do not have to “dress in rags” or “come to poverty”.  This sound extreme but our heath can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars with one hospital trip.  I don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars for my health.  I need You to help me now to avoid gluttony.  The results of which, You have outlined.  I love You and I am ready.