Ever crammed in that last double chocolate sundae with extra waffles, smiled and said “The diet starts tomorrow”?
Amos 6:1-7
Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!
2 Go to Kalneh and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,
and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.
5 You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
your feasting and lounging will end.
Today’s grow daily is not going to be about getting us to do a guilt trip jump on the scales, well not physically!
It is so easy to put off to tomorrow that resolve to eat healthily, decrease portion size, and be mindful about wasting food. This doesn’t apply to just food. We want to splurge on that expensive outfit, because we might not get to again, we want to book that luxury cruise on our bucket list because you only live once. While these things of themselves are not bad, it is the attitude of devouring the best that life can offer that we have to be careful of.
We can be having such a great time indulging in this life that we forget the misfortunes of others and the life after this one. Those in today’s passage had done that. Surrounded by their cocoon of pleasant things, they had forgotten about judgment and exile. They had forgotten that enemies could take from them all that they had. And they had forgotten the Lord.
Elsewhere in the Bible it talks about the attitude of “Eat and drink for tomorrow we die”. If there was nothing after this life, then it makes sense to fill up with all that is possible, to “drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions” But there is life after this one. There is a tomorrow coming for all of humanity, for some judgement, and for some everlasting life.
Living like tomorrow will never come may mean cramming in all the pleasures and earthly satisfaction while you can, but as followers of Christ, we live as if tomorrow is coming, as Jesus Himself is coming. He is our tomorrow, he has bought us all of eternity and compared to that, the best a la carte meals, the finest wines, they all pale into dust.
As we think of that tomorrow, our need to fill ourselves with the good of the earth is replaced with the need to fill ourselves with the good of The Spirit. Our eyes will be opened to look beyond ourselves and our own appetites and realise there is a world out there that is starving, hungry for more than daily bread, for the satisfaction and eternal assurance that only Jesus can give.
So let’s start the diet today, the diet that feasts on the presence of God, that delights in His Word, and spreads the hope of our tomorrow in Jesus Christ.
Head: Think of some well-known diets and how they aim to cut out things the body craves such as sugars, carbs, and large portions. Compare this with the ‘good of the earth’ that you may need to reduce in your life that Jesus may increase
Heart: Tummy rumbles prompt us that we should eat. Listen out for heart rumbles that prompt us to draw closer to Jesus, that feeling of discomfort until we have sought His counsel and been filled with the water of life.
Hands: Use the time of saying grace before a meal to reflect a little longer on the things that Jesus has given us far beyond this food. Give thanks to Him for those as well.
Prayer: Dear Lord, for what we eat we are grateful, but for what you have done for us on the cross, we are eternally grateful. Help us to be full of You and the riches of Your presence, and help us show that to others. Amen.
A song to listen to: Only You Can Satisfy
Nicole Davenport
