RAVENOUS APPETITES

Shakespeare said “all the world’s a stage”, what he failed to mention is that the stage has on it a seemingly endless banquet table for insatiable, albeit proverbial, stomachs. Even the casual observer in this world full of delightful tables can conclude that we are a people with most ravenous appetites.

Much has been said in recent years of the ever-expanding size of our daily meals and the super-sized messages plastered on the windows and menus of nearly all fast-food restaurants, and for good reason. Ours is a society that shuns limits, loathes restriction, and vehemently despises boundaries. Gone are the days of denying oneself, for such a concept is nearly alien in the minds of most Americans; taboo is the idea of abstinence.

Yet, in embracing this “all you can eat” perspective of life, we have become an undisciplined society of the sinfully obese. Christian Liberty, no matter one's understanding, has in many cases become a license for indulgence. Moderation is a forgotten word and Christian Liberty is a misunderstood concept. Consequently, our problem is not found in the inability of our society to embrace the freedom to partake but rather in its inability to abstain.

Certainly, there are those who live a fruitful and un-burdened life of moderation. Nevertheless, I suspect that outnumbered to a great degree are those who have attempted a life of measured indulgence, only to find themselves slaves to a faceless master. Is there room in the life of a believer for abstinence or have we developed so demanding an appetite that we dare not deprive ourselves of even a glimpse of temporary pleasure?

In his book, “The Spirit of the Disciplines”, Dallas Willard states the following, “In the discipline of abstinence, we abstain to some degree and for some time from the satisfaction of what we generally regard as normal and legitimate desires. “Normal” desires include our basic drives or motivations, such as those for food, sleep, bodily activity, companionship, curiosity, and sex. But our desires for convenience, comfort, material security, reputation or fame, and variety are also considered under this heading.” (Willard, 1988)

Admittedly, this discipline of abstinence is not something that most have a great deal of familiarity with, and I would venture to say that I am in the stream of the majority rather than the minority. Coupled with this general explanation, consider the words of William Law," If religion requires us sometimes to fast, and deny our natural appetites, it is to lessen that struggle and war that is in our nature, it is to render our bodies fitter instruments of purity, and more obedient to the good motions of Divine grace; it is to dry up the springs of our passions that war against the soul, to cool the flame of our blood, and render the mind more capable of Divine meditations. So that although these abstinences give some pain to the body, yet they so lessen the power of bodily appetites and passions and so increase our taste of spiritual joys, that even these severities of religion, when practiced with discretion, add much to the comfortable enjoyment of our lives.” [1]

I am here tempted to elaborate on these stinging words; yet, in keeping with the spirit of this challenge, I am going to choose to abstain! What about you?

[1]William Law. A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Joseph Kreifels.