The third principle is Avoid food addictions: Don’t let food or drink become your God.
Exodus 20:3: You shall have no other gods before me.
When anything consumes our attention and replaces God, even good things can be made bad. Common substances that we become dependent on are caffeine, fat, sugar, and salt.
The following verse describes what happened when Isarael substituted an overabundance of food for God.
Deuteronomy 32:15 : Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.
There are also direct commands against drunkenness and alcoholics suffer from heart disease, liver disease, bowel diseases, joint problems, mental disorders, along with various other aches, pains, and fatigue.
Dr. Russell’s recommendation for avoiding food addictions is fasting. A physical explanation of the benefits of fasting is that during this time of rest from food, the enzyme systems replenish themselves to their proper balance.
There are various reasons for fasting in the Scriptures: mourning, seeking God’s face, obtaining answers to prayer, deliverance from enemies and oppressors, getting closer to God, and asking God to intervene in our lives. Clearly the benefits of fasting are largely spiritual.
Fasting is a whole study in itself so just briefly, Dr. Russell describes four kinds of fasts.
Normal Fast: Not eating food for a definite time period: 1 day, 3 days, one week, one month and 40 days are some of the fasting times observed in the Scriptures.
Absolute Fast: Not ingesting food or water – should be short. Moses did an absolute fast for 40 days.
Partial Fast: Omitting a certain amount of meals or certain foods for a specific period of time. Daniel, John the Baptist, and Elijah are some examples of the partial fast.
Rotational Fast: Avoiding certain foods periodically
We typically fast every night while we sleep. Again, a whole study can be devoted to this topic so I just wanted to mention it briefly. Please note sustained fasting should be done with professional guidance.
Personal note about liking frappacinos. I generally don’t like coffee. But I do like the littled bottled frappacinos. But there have been times when I have “fasted” from them such as when following a yeast-free diet. But I really like them. So when it was time to add foods back to my diet, I got a frappacino. And I felt like a heroin addict getting a fix. It was such a total ahhhhh experience. That’s one reason, I don’t drink alcohol except for rare occasions. I know that I am not a sipper. I’m a gulper. So I know my weaknesses and try not to put myself in a position to become addicted.
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