All Things are Permissable

All things are permissable, but not all things are beneficial. All things are permissable, but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

Please someone help me out here. Paul says in the above scripture that all things are permissable, but not all things are beneficial. He goes on to assert that he will not be mastered by anything. Well, go ahead with your bad self, Paul.

I have not been so blessed. I recently, only three weeks ago, for the umpteenth time reasserted that I will not be mastered by anything ever again. I declared an all out war on junk food and the extra pounds that I am carrying around on my beautiful frame. I determined, again according to Paul's suggestion in another scripture (Hebrews 12:1) to lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily besets me. The weight being an extra 40 or so pounds and the sin being the tendency to gorge myself on delicious tasting foods, desserts, and candies. Uh, disgusting!

So, I got out the Zig Ziglar How to Stay Motivated tapes and listened seven times to the Goal Setting tape. I established my goal and for three weeks, I was on target. Not eating dessert or any junk food until Sunday and working out with Billy Blanks every day. I was doing great and then this past Friday night I opened the freezer and there, staring me in my face was a pint of Ben and Jerry's Everything But the...2 Twisted. I popped the lid and dug in. Before I knew it, I had demolished the whole thing and then I went ahead and finished off the last two Entemann's donuts that the husband and kids had left behind. The next morning, I was sick as a dog, but that didn't stop me from having Pizza Hut for dinner. The following day, yesterday, one of our congregants brought cheesecake for her pastors. Of course, I had to eat some of the cheesecake that she had worked so hard to make.

I ate cheesecake tonight also, along with some Dominoes pizza, and four Chico-sticks. Did I mention the burger and fries that I got from Wendy's for lunch? And of course, when I tried to work out, the VCR wasn't working.

Now, what happened to my declaration that I would not be mastered by anything? That went completely down the drain. All I wanted to do was stuff this junkfood that was no good for me down my throat, into my system. Just to feel the rush of sugar as it surged through my veins. What the....?

I'll tell you what happened. I was feeling some stress and instead of leaning on the Lord, I went ahead and took the quick and easy way out. Similar to the drug addict who's finding it hard to cope and goes and finds some drugs. Or the alcoholic who has sworn off of drinking, but just wants one more drink. Similar to the woman who breaks up with the man who is no good for her only to find herself in his arms and in his bed, just one more time.

Weakness. We all experience it. We can all relate. However, just because I stumbled and fell does not mean that I'm going to stay down. Today is over. I'm going to bed in a few short minutes. Tomorrow is a brand new day. I pray for forgiveness for my sin of leaning on food and desserts instead of God. I again commit to start all over again, refusing to quit until I win.

Oh yes, if I wake up tomorrow in my right mind and I pray that I do, I will beat that devil of deception. Momentary pleasure is not the answer. In the end this junkfood will kill me if I don't stop. Just like the drugs, alcohol, and illicit affairs will kill all who indulge in them.

Everything is indeed permissable, but none of the above things are beneficial for me or for you. Everything is permissable, but I will not be mastered by anything. I am going to lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily besets me, I am going to run this race that is set before me, and I will not quit. I said I will not quit...until I win!

God Bless You
Rebecca