Do you ever get the feeling that you are missing out on something? I know I do!
For example, my body doesn't handle the food I put in it the way it used to. There are stories that my family will tell (and some friends, too, I suppose) of how I ate a baker's dozen doughnuts by myself one morning when I was a teenager, or how I kept eating cobbler after cobbler at the Salt Lick bbq restaurant around the time I got married in my mid-20s, and other such stories. But I can't eat like that anymore. Not if I want to take care of myself and have energy, concentration, and motivation.
So, I try to cut back on sweets - candies, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and the like. I cut back on carbohydrates - bread, tortillas, cookies, cakes... I cut back on comfort foods that are delicious but rich and heavy, and on large portion sizes. I haven't been a soda drinker for 16 1/2 years.
To go off-course slightly for a moment, have you thought about some of the foods eaten in Biblical times? When the Israelites were in the desert, God fed them with meat and bread (quail and manna). John the Baptist ate locusts and honey. When Jesus fed multitudes of people, he fed them fish and bread. Now, I'm all about eating fruits and vegetables, but do you see any of those listed above? Well, we can't forget about Adam and Eve in the garden, because I feel fairly confident that they ate fruits and vegetables. Okay, time to get back on track again.
I have to admit that I don't keep up with eating better for me all the time. I love sweets and have to really pull together a lot of will-power to avoid them, and eating is such a joy...sometimes I feel like I am missing out. I feel deprived, like other people are getting something that I am not getting.
I started thinking about another area in which some people feel like they are missing out on things. If someone is considering living as a Christian, they might feel like they will be missing out on all the "fun" that non-believers are having - the parties, and just getting to say and do whatever they want without worrying about what other people and God might think about it. So, I thought about what I'm missing out on by my choice to live as a follower of Christ.
1. Wild Parties - I miss out on getting drunk or drugged and some of the effects of these - hangovers, acting foolishly, making foolish mistakes, harmful addictions.
2. Getting to say whatever I want - I miss out on yelling/shouting when mad, using foul language, gossiping, and talking unkindly or negatively.
3. Getting to watch, listen to, or read whatever media I want - I miss out on filling my mind and heart with crude, violent, or horror images and thoughts. I miss out on internalized messages that can be harmful to others and myself.
4. Getting to make choices based only on what I want - I miss out on decisions that are hurtful to others and myself in the short-term and long-term.
Wow, I don't think I'm sad about what I'm missing! In fact, I gain so much more by avoiding these things. I can maintain my dignity and reputation by living purely and authentically in all situations. I can build up people and relationships with kind, considerate, beneficial, controlled speech. I can protect my mind from the lies of Satan and enemies of God, and maintain focus on God's plan and purposes. I can hear His voice and see where He is working more clearly. I can see and hear how God works in my life and others when I consider every action and decision carefully, allowing God to lead me.
So, just a few more notes and verses to share with you:
1. If you never had it, you won't miss it. That's not to say that if you know about it and see other people with it/doing it that you won't wistfully want it, but you won't miss it. I think about the people who work on cacao farms and have never tasted chocolate. Oh boy, they are missing out on an addiction, aren't they? I think of friends with children who have food allergies. They don't know what they are missing - and that's okay. They are happy with what they have. I think of poor people in other countries, who have never known anything other than scraps of food for their one meal of the day, one room in a small tent for their entire family, no air conditioner or heater, no nice cushy beds, no kitchens full of pots and pans, no leftovers in the fridge (no fridge), etc. Imagine their shock if they saw our abundance. (By the way, does that make your heart hurt like mine? How spoiled we are!)
2. Withdrawal is not easy. If you see that you need to make changes, it's not easy. Any former addict will tell you that - whether it be drugs, alcohol, caffiene, sugar, or any one of the many other forms of addiction. Withdrawal from harmful substances and situations, however, is well worth it! Don't give up just because something is hard. Hard doesn't make it wrong.
3. Once it is removed, you might find you have a distaste for it. I have recently heard from a couple individuals how they used to love sodas, but once they stopped drinking them for a while, if they decided to have one again, they couldn't stand it. They either didn't like the taste anymore, or they would physically become ill. I've heard similar things from friends who are now gluten-free. The cost of having something with a little gluten is not worth the consequences that come with it, so they no longer want those things.
4. Replace it with something better. I have heard that when you remove something, you need to be intentional about replacing it with an acceptable alternative. Otherwise, you face the possibility of falling into another bad pattern, another accidental addiction that might be even harder to break. So, when you remove wild and crazy parties, replace it with meaningful gatherings of friends and family, sharing healthy experiences and great stories. Replace gossip and harmful talk with uplifting and beneficial speech. Use positive words instead of negative words. Go ahead and plan some out. It'll help you be more successful. When you get rid of harmful media, replace it with something more in line with what you want filling your head and heart. Before you make a decision, build in some time to pray, seek guidance if needed, and sincerely consider your choices and the effects it could have on others and yourself.
5. Get accountability. Find a trusted person who can support you, who will give you gentle yet firm nudges in the right direction. It is always easier when you are not trying to do it on your own.
6. Pray. Call on the strength and power of One who has infinitely more than you alone, or any group of humans combined. Ask Him to fill you with wisdom and strength, to give you the motivation to persevere, to walk with you all the way.
Verses:
2 Cor. 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!
Eph. 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but
only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen.
Phil. 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such
things.
Luke 14:28, 31 - Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?...Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 6:45 - The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
1 Cor. 15:33 - Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
Ecc. 4:9-12 - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Phil. 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Thess. 5:16-18 - Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thess. 5:21-22 - Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
Romans 6:21 - What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Romans 12:21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 Cor 10:13 - No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
1 Cor. 10:23-24, 31 - "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others...So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Cor. 11:31 - But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
James 4:4 - You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Deut. 7:26 - Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
