I have a sweet tooth. I have been told that I got it from my dad, who got it from my grandfather. I’m not sure if a hereditary sweet tooth is scientifically provable, but I suspect it could also have something to do with the fact that my wife, my mom, and my grandmother are all great cooks. Regardless of how the battle began, I try to be mindful of the types of food I eat. Not long ago, I heard an interview with Dr. John Piper during which someone asked, “Does God want us to care for our physical bodies?” His answer is worth sharing.

We Should Fight for the Spiritual

Galatians 5:22-23 says (emphasis mine):

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Piper points out that Paul mainly had sexual self-control in mind when writing this, but since self-control involves the work of the Holy Spirit, it has implications beyond merely sexual self-control and extends to what we eat and how we care for our bodies. There’s no doubt that the daily battles we face in caring for our bodies can often be traced back to spiritual issues, and you need to keep that in mind when you encounter them.

We Should Fight Against Unhealthy Things

Piper also says that we must fight against things that make us unhealthy by the power the Holy Spirit provides. Too often, we adopt a “pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps” mentality and try to muster up strength to fight temptation. But if the root of temptation is spiritual unbelief, then we must fight those deeper spiritual battles by praying that the Spirit would empower us to believe the truth so we can fight the lies of temptation with the truth. And that brings us to Piper’s next great point.

We Should Fight for a Higher Joy

Piper says it so well: “Christianity is self-denial . . . for a higher joy.” If we believe that Christ is better than anything else, then we must actively fight to keep our joy in him alone because He is the only thing that can satisfy our souls. He is better than food. He is better than sleep. He is better than life itself.

End of Year Donation

If you have been encouraged by reading the Blueprint for Life devotionals this year, please prayerfully consider making a charitable donation to the ministry.  Click here to give!