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Seasons of Self Indulgence

As I peel my second orange of the day, in hopes of fending off another sugar withdrawal headache, I'm feeling the effects of a little too much self-indulgence the past year. From a steamy summer, savoring repeated trips to Chick fil-a for the refreshment of their famed Peach Milkshake, and into autumn and winter, which brought the annual Pumpkin Spice Latte binge, followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas, then Valentine's candy...well, it amounts to one massive sweet downward spiral for this sugar addict. Shameful. Even though my denomination does not traditionally observe Lenten season, you can see why I feel the need to do it myself. 
There are times to indulge, and times to enjoy, but I'm attacked with pangs of guilt, (pains unfortunately unabated by Motrin or Excedrin) regularly, on the 24th of the month, as I work my way through Proverbs 24, to verse 27. "It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one's own glory, is not glory." Ouch. 
"He must increase, but I must decrease," John 3:29 tells us. How can I possibly have room for the GOOD things I need to consume, physically and spiritually, when I'm stuffed with selfishness? 
We know what sugar does, with all the drugs marketed lately to people with adult onset diabetes, and I have a number of friends and family fighting cancer who tell me that's one thing they have to avoid because sugar "feeds" cancer. In much the same way, the choices we make that are driven by self-indulgence, rather than devotion, are destructive elements that we need to limit, control, squelch.
This blog isn't meant to be a guilt trip about sugar, but, really, but I do think we should think twice about self indulgence, and the self-destructive outcome of too much of it. 
How do we suppress self-indulgence? By choosing things that TRULY satisfy, and fortify, long term.
An orange with some extra devotional time. A cup of tea with some quiet worship music. A walk around the block in prayer, just you and God, alone. 
A nutritionist once taught me that, often, when we have the munchies, we are actually thirsty--our body just doesn't know how to signal that. By the time we feel actually, clearly, thirsty, we are dehydrated. The same principle applies to our spirit. Are we snacking because we are genuinely hungry, or hungry for God's presence?
Test your cravings. Stop and reflect before you indulge, because the things we normally crave don't really satisfy. DO take time out to take care of yourself, but be sure you're feeding your soul first.

"For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness." -- Psalm 107:9


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