One of my favorite concepts is in Luke 9:23 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." One of the biggest things I face when making food choices is the question of beneficial vs. permissible. Yes, it is permissible for me to eat ice cream at 10pm, I won't die. But...is it beneficial to me, my body, or my goals? As much as I love cookie dough ice cream, the answer is no. Lysa TerKeurst writes in her book Made to Crave about growing closer to God "by making the choice to deny ourselves something that is permissible but not beneficial--and making this sacrifice for the sole purpose of growing closer to God."
So the challenge is passing up the permissible and focusing on the beneficial. We are created to be victorious with the strength of God, and each have great callings and purposes in life. But too often, it seems people settle for mediocracy and coast by in the zone of comfort. However, we weren't made to just get by; we were made to thrive! So why would I want to allow the permissible things in my life to hold me back from my full potential? To quote one of my favorite MercyMe songs: "This life was meant to SHINE!" I'm on a quest for a shining victory and denying those permissible temptations for the beneficial sake of growing closer to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment