Empty Calories

And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 1 Samuel 12:21

I’ve often wondered what my diet would look like (and what I would look like) if I consistently ate only that which I needed. What if I ate only for nutrition, and not for appetite? The thing is, I can figure out exactly how many grams of carbohydrates, fat, and protein that I need to fuel my body. My problem is that what I eat isn’t determined only by that which I need. Instead, my diet is often determined by what I want and often, what I want is empty calories. These are those calories that come from foods which offer no nutritional value, primarily sugar and fat, and serve only to make me gain weight . . . but which taste really really good. I don’t need them. They’re not good for me. I know they’re poisonous to my life goals, but right now, I want them.

Though he wasn’t talking about nutrition or calories, this is the same principle taught by Samuel in today’s passage. In it, the prophet implored his people to follow God, serving him with all their heart. If they desired the good life which God intended for them, they had to seek God and obey his will. They needed to guard against distraction by empty things that cannot profit or deliver. These were those things in life which weren’t healthy, but which they wanted. These behaviors – like idol worship and adulterous relationships – brought them immediate gratification but led them away from God, towards self-destruction. Though they tasted good, these things were poisonous.

This isn’t only about my diet. This is about any life behavior that distracts me from who I truly want to be. At any given time, I have two wills at war within me. I have that which I truly want in the long run. Then, I have that which I want right now. Living in faith and recovery means daily working on choosing to avoid those empty things that cannot profit, but which turn me from God. Does this thought or action draw me closer to God and the new life or does it turn me back towards the old life? Is this healthy or is this self-destructive? My appetite won’t be perfected in this life, but I don’t have to live enslaved to it, so daily, I must continue to work on saying no to empty calories so that I may pursue God’s will for my life.