VS. March 22, 2025 Devotional
March 22, 2025
PHILIPPIANS 3:18-19 | 18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the
belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.
The opposite of self-control which harnesses appetites and desires to fit convictions and values, is gluttony or intemperance. Sensual pleasures are a good gift of God. But an exaggerated need for pleasures and stimulation can come to dominate someone’s thoughts and become an obsession or even a compulsion. In a telling phrase Paul warns that our stomachs can become our gods, incessantly driving our consumption, demanding instant gratification, and squeezing out other and greater goods. We should receive all God’s gifts, including food and drink and other aesthetic pleasures like music or art with a genuine gratitude. But when beauty and pleasure begin to drive our choices, then the good becomes the enemy of the best, the minor replaces the major, and our focus on service and love and character is lost in the fog of immediate experience.
What is your greatest pleasure?
Gracious God,
May I indulge in right pleasures without becoming self-indulgent or obsessive. Increase my self-control.
Amen.
