Made To Crave Bible Study - Permissible But Not Beneficial

"Everything is permissible...but not everything is beneficial."  (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV)

This is the verse/statement that hit me the hardest so far in the Made To Crave Bible study.  So many times we go on diets that tell us what we're "allowed" to have, and what foods are "forbidden".  I've been on those diets, and all it makes me want to do is have the stuff they tell me I can't have.  It's as if they want to treat us like two-year-olds by telling us that certain things are no-nos.  And we all know how toddlers react when they are told no!

This verse brings everything around to free will.  We can do whatever we want - but there are consequences to our choices and decisions.  Sure, we can choose to eat a box of candy, pint of ice cream, or bag of chips if that's what we want.  But eating those things won't be beneficial to our health. 

Just as someone with any other type of addiction does, we have a choice.  It may not be easy, and we won't be able to do it all on our own.  We need support from others on the road to healthy living. 

Mot of all, we need God.  Struggling with food addiction - or anything else - requires focusing on God rather than the addiction...and when you feel you are about to lose control and give in, well, that's when it's especially important to pray and ask God for the strength you need to get through the craving without giving in - every single time.

I've been known to binge on junk food at times, especially anything filled with sugar.  I've bought a small sheet cake and eaten half of it at one time.  I've scarfed down two pints of ice cream when I'm stressed.  When I was younger, I even had such a bad sugar craving that I finished off a half-used tube of cake icing just to satisfy the urge for sweets.  Obviously, I didn't need permission from anyone to do these things.  I did it because I felt like it.

But of course, none of those items were beneficial to me in any way.  I only craved sugar more.  After the sugar high, the crash made me feel lethargic.  And of course my stomach was not happy trying to digest all of that sugar at one time. 

This is not to say you can never have a small treat.  The operative word here is SMALL.  A scoop of ice cream, a slice of cake, one piece of candy...on occasion these things can be fine.  This can also keep you from binging on unhealthy foods, because you know you can have a little bit once in a while.

The trick is to ask God to help you make the right choices:  when to have that small treat, when to pass it up, and how to keep from overdoing it and binging when you do decide to have a small amount.  This will require daily practice on our part, focusing on God and bringing these struggles to Him in prayer.  It has to be taken on with Him as the guide.

I'm getting back into the habit of taking the stress to God, so He can help me deal with it in better ways than eating whatever I feel like eating at the moment.  I want my choices to be beneficial - just as they should be!