This group of verses warns against getting carried away by gluttonous behavior. It also speaks to the dangers of a lack of self-control with other behaviors. There are numerous kid stories about the consequences of gluttonous behaviors. As you can imagine, none paint a good picture of the outcome. I have come to appreciate the long-view St. John Cassian gives of living with undisciplined appetites, “For if a man is unable to check the unnecessary desires of the appetite how will he be able to extinguish the fire of carnal lust? And if a man is not able to control passions, which are openly manifest and are but small, how will he be able with temperate discretion to fight against those which are secret, and excite him, when none are there to see? And therefore strength of mind is tested in separate impulses and in any sort of passion: and if it is overcome in the case of very small and manifest desires, how it will endure in those that are really great and powerful and hidden, each man’s conscience must witness for himself.” Today, work on controlling any desire or appetite that does not align with your journey to follow God. #BeTheEdge
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Jesus
