1 Corinthians 10:31
God is deserving of glory
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
The words in this verse wouldn’t leave my head as I finished off the last of a second bag of Cheetos. Not the small bags, mind you. It was the party-sized bags. Two of them for a party of one…me.
Was I proud of myself? I was filled with shame as my stomach began to feel weird. Trust me, that will happen. When you eat two party-sized bags of Cheetos, your stomach will do strange things.
Why did I eat two party-sized bags of Cheetos all by myself? It wasn’t only that they are one of the most delicious treats on the planet, but I was in stress mode and junk food is my go-to stress reliever.
I know. I know. I should have gone to God first and prayed about my stress-related issue, but I didn’t and paid the price for it. I had a stomachache and a migraine from all that cheesy goodness. It was fun at the time but not the wisest thing I have ever done. Did it help with the stress? In the moment, it did. I enjoyed every bite of those little treats as I watched silly videos on YouTube to keep my mind occupied. The aftermath of my party was painful. It was painful physically but also spiritually. Was I giving God the glory He deserved as I put away two huge bags of cheese-flavored goodness? Of course not. I felt like a glutton because I was.
I wasn’t even hungry. I ate them because they were there, and I didn’t care. At that moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to soothe myself. I was weak and made a terrible choice. I spoke to my husband about it, and he felt bad that I felt disgusted with myself. He reminded me that we are all humans who make mistakes. This one was a doozy.
“You are too hard on yourself,” he reminded me. I knew I was. Still, I felt guilty that I had also hurt God with my gluttony. I didn’t glorify Him then. I didn’t even think about Him, and I should have. That was my first mistake.
I often justify my love for junk food by saying I don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs. Am I not allowed this one vice? When it became a problem like it did that night, I knew I was in deep doo-doo. I had a long talk with the Lord and confessed my sin of gluttony. More importantly, I apologized that I had not gone to Him first when I needed Him and had not glorified Him the way He deserved.
No one knew what I had done that night, not even my husband. He was in another part of the house. No one knew I had stuffed myself with Cheetos until they came out of my ears. God knew. I knew I had hurt Him. God deserves to be glorified in everything we do. His Spirit lives within us. We’re supposed to take care of our temples because He dwells within us. Jesus died for our sins, even the sin of gluttony. I had struck the nails once more with my overindulgence.
Maybe I am being too hard on myself, but I love Jesus. I know He loves me and forgives me for what I did. God’s grace is so much greater than the worst of our sins. I learned a hard lesson that night, but it was a valuable one.
Turn to Jesus first. Remember how He deserves glory and honor in everything we do. And stay away from those Cheetos.