"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 14:3
"Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him."
Can you tell I've been reading in Romans? Anyway, let's start with the first scripture. When I came across this during my morning scripture reading the other day it just seemed to fit so well with the changes I'm trying to make in my life. For instance, not only am I trying to not eat junk, I'm trying to replace those calories with veggies and whole grains and other things that are good for my body. And if it weren't for these healthy replacements I wouldn't be able to make it. After all, I've got to eat something. It really would be impossible not to be overcome of evil (desserts) if I wasn't combating it with good (veggies). Now on to the second scripture. There I was a morning or two ago, reading along in my morning scripture study, not really having any idea what the chapter was talking about (Does this happen to you? It happens to me all the time.) and then, out of nowhere, was this verse. It really hit home with me and with these goals I've been working on. In my mind it came out as "Don't get bitter toward those around you who are eating all the yummy junk that you're trying so hard to avoid and, hey, you over there who's upset with me for not eating the yummy homemade dessert you're so generously sharing with me, don't be offended I'm not eating it." (I'm so eloquent, right?) I've told you before that turning down homemade goodies from others worries me. I don't want to be a rude, but I also don't want to spoil my goals just out of politeness. But I think I am making progress. On Friday night some of our favorite friends came over and one of them generously made some really fabulous-looking angel food cake. Let me just say that I wanted some real bad. Real, real, bad. It really looked wonderful. And I almost talked myself into believing that it was so light and fluffy that it couldn't possibly count as evil dessert. But I soon snapped out of it (luckily before I had any) and decided to just have a little bowl of the cut up strawberries with some whipped topping (Thanks for the idea, Alex!). And with this second scripture in mind, I made sure my friend knew how grateful I was that she brought her dessert to share (Amanda- thanks again!) and then tried real hard not to be bitter that everyone else was enjoying their yummy goodness. No, really though, it was okay. And it will be okay for you too.
We really can do this. I'm sure of it.
4 comments:
I think, when declining the offer of a treat, that it's helpful to be clear about motives.
If the motive is just to reduce calories, then one bite of a treat isn't going to blow the calorie budget.
If the motive is to retrain eating habits and build strength and self-discipline, then one bite could have a more significant effect.
That's a great strategy to have an alternate treat available. And for sure, it doesn't help to be bitter about what anyone else is eating. These are choices we are making--no one is forcing us!
I'm sorry about the cake! I'm glad you had delicious strawberries, though!
Haha. Don't be sorry. It looked delicious. And I'm glad you brought it so everyone else could have real dessert. :)
way to overcome temptation katie!
i'm so with you. craig eats ice cream almost every night and sometimes i kind of want to punch him in the face...but he's been really sweet about encouraging me, so i can't really get too annoyed :).
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