Beyond Bread: In a Relationsip . . . A Wrong Relationship

Thursday, June 13th, 2013     by Clarice G. James     4 Comments

Wrong RelationshipDo not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1Jn 2:15-16 NIV)

Eating or thinking about food has dominated much of my life. I’ve given years to a preoccupation with and an over indulgence of food and/or dieting. I’ve lost battle after battle with my  weight. And I still eat when I’m not hungry . . . when I’m angry, lonely, worried, bored, afraid, and nervous. Oh, yeah, and when I’m happy, too.

I know I eat more than my body needs. And when I use food in this manner, I’m no different from those who turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, or other compulsive behavior.  In the past, I claimed (and believed) that my overeating was a personality disorder and/or a chemical imbalance or other type of addiction. It semi-absolved me from any responsibility in the matter. How convenient. How unproductive.

In the Word of God, I discovered that compulsive overeating is a behavioral problem compounded by years of bad habits, family history, environment, lack of knowledge, no self-discipline, my self-will, and my sin nature. If I’m stuffing food, chances are I’m stuffing the reasons I’m overeating.  These issues need to be brought to the surface, acknowledged and addressed if I ever want to be free from them.

Sometimes I want to hide my struggles in this area, but extra weight is tough to hide. It acts as an outward sign of my pain, disobedience, and failure. It’s hard to ignore. Maybe that’s a good thing because it makes it difficult to deny I need help.

I’ve turned to food for my comfort instead of to God. How lame is that? The good news is that God is a God of grace. He can change me from the inside out!

I crave a good relationship with food, don’t you? I’m going to start today. Want to come along?

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    The Conversation

  1. debracelovsky says:
    June 13, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    And food, in this country, is inexpensive and everywhere. Thank you for your honesty and encouraging your readers to be, as well.

    Reply
  2. Jim Hamlett says:
    June 13, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    I love eating. It’s one of the most enjoyable things we do, which is why we often turn to it beyond meal times. And when I started having difficulty buttoning the waist of my pants, I just bought the next size up–and kept on “enjoying.”

    Thanks to my wife (who researched a food allergy problem our daughter developed as a teen), we’ve had our eyes opened. It took us a few years to make a complete switch from the general American diet to a plant-based, nutritionally-dense one. But we’ll never go back.

    The primary problem in the American diet is not how much we eat (though it’s a contributing factor). It’s *what* we eat. Rather than blather on about it, here’s three websites that offer incredible evidence for plant-based diets. (These guys are not quacks. Check their credentials.) You don’t need the next fad diet. The best way to lose weight–and keep it off–is to change *what* you eat.

    http://www.drfuhrman.com/
    http://www.forksoverknives.com/
    http://nutritionfacts.org/

    Reply
    • Clarice James says:
      June 14, 2013 at 12:08 pm

      Thanks, Jim, you’re right; I don’t want another fad diet. I’m more concerned with the WHEN, HOW MUCH, and WHY I eat. Even those eating the “right” or “best” foods can eat and overeat for the wrong reasons. We can use any kind of food (healthy or not-so-healthy) to stuff our feelings.

      Reply
  3. Janet Grunst says:
    June 14, 2013 at 7:36 am

    Bravo, Clarice, for your transparency and honesty.
    “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

    Reply