The average American eats 2-3 pounds of sugar per week. A century ago, the average person consumed five pounds of sugar per year. Kyle Idleman documents this in his book, Gods at War, where he takes a look at the idols that we tend to worship. One question we should ask ourselves, Idleman says, is, “Where is your sanctuary?” In other words, when you’ve had a hard day at work, where do you go when you get home? To the fridge for comfort food, like ice cream or brownies? Or to the phone to vent with a friend? Or to the TV? (“I need some me time and besides; I don’t want to think right now!”) Do you turn to alcohol, or to porn? Where do you go?
I was in a ministry team in the 80’s called Damascus Road, and we used to sing the song, “I Go to the Rock,” by Dottie Rambo. Here’s part of the chorus:
I go to The Rock of my salvation
I go to the stone that the builders rejected
I run to the mountain and The Mountain stands by me
When the earth all around me is sinking sand
On Christ, the solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend
I go to The Rock
Here are the questions Idleman closed the chapter on the “God of Food” with, for your (and my!) consideration:
1. Do you eat more for pleasure or for nourishment? “…there is nothing wrong in finding pleasure from a gift that the Lord God has given us; but when we pursue pleasure for its own sake it has a way of expanding beyond its borders.”
2. When and why do you overindulge? “When life goes wrong, our first impulse frequently is to turn to food.”
3. Would you be willing to try a fast? It is one of “the easiest ways to gauge the power that the god of food has over you…Don’t do it as a test of discipline or as as way to fit into your skinny jeans in the closet. Do it for the expressed purpose of spending time with God. Pray that you will have a greater hunger for Him than for the food of this world.”
Go to the Rock!
J. Mark Fox 