Food and Drugs

And they shall say to the elders of his city, “This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. Deuteronomy 21:20-21

I don’t primarily have a drug problem. Rather, I have an appetite problem. My drug use has simply been the most obvious symptom of my appetite problem. My problem is that my brain desires that which is profoundly unhealthy for me. Getting sober meant removing the drugs from my life, but that didn’t prevent my brain from seeking relief, release, or pleasure in other places. This is cross addiction – abandoning one addiction, only to find another. Now, when stressed, and I can’t turn to drugs, guess where I go?

For the last six months, I’ve been training for a September CrossFit competition that I missed due to an illness. The loss of motivation coupled with the frustration of missing out, has been a challenge to which I’ve responded poorly. I couldn’t turn to alcohol or drugs – that’s just not an option – so instead, I reached for something much more acceptable. Eating my way through the last month, I’ve packed on 10 fat-filled pounds. Using food as an escape, I felt better momentarily, but now I’m filled with regret and self-loathing. Over-eating didn’t help my condition but rather, made it significantly worse.

My life would certainly be in a far worse place if I’d have relapsed on drugs. I’m not minimizing that reality. Rather, I’m pointing out that it would be a grave error to dismiss my gluttony as no big deal. Today’s passage demonstrates my point. In it, God spoke of gluttony in the same breath as addiction. Treatment was apparently a little harsher back then, as being a glutton and drunkard was punishable by death.

Thankfully, we don’t kill gluttons or drunkards, but there’s a profound reality that is exposed here – Drunkards and gluttons are killing themselves. In the Old Testament, God simply sped things up a little. You want to self-destruct? Fine, we’ll just skip to the inevitable end. Thankfully we don’t live under Old Testament law, but again, the reality stands. When I indulge in my self-destructive appetite, it’s no small thing – even if it’s with donuts instead of pills. If I overeat my way through life, one day dying from obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, that may be socially more acceptable, but it’s no less of a failure than if I died from a drug overdose.

True joy is found, not in food or drugs, but rather in God. My greatest life needs are met only in a loving relationship with him. My futile attempts to find satisfaction anywhere else is self-destructive, even if it’s socially acceptable. Today then, and every day, I must abandon my way to point my life at God, finding my center in him, not in a donut.