12 days

I spent twelve days on a diet limited to only a few types of foods: white meat, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, beans and a small variety of vegetables. Though the food was not all that tasty, it satisfied my hunger.

People have a tendency to eat food which is airy and full of sugar. They normally over eat, and are rarely satisfied with themselves after a meal. In their mind, they are feeding their bodies what they think it needs. Really, they are only giving themselves unneeded fat, and sugar. It leaves them unsatisfied and desiring more food more frequently. My diet threw away the sugary and fatty foods like bread, bacon, chips, pizza, jelly ect… and took on foods which have more nutritional value and are more fulfilling. They give what the body needs: nourishment and a full stomach. As I went through this diet I became weary of the foods I had to eat. My mind became filled with thoughts of jelly sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, pizza, bacon, and sausage. I wanted to find good taste in my food. After the diet I learned the hard way that the “good taste” I was looking for was not worth the trouble I had to go through to get it. On Saturday, my first day free from the diet, I pigged out on pizza. On Sunday afternoon, I ate two large sandwiches, and, in the evening, I ate too many chips. The more I ate the more I wanted and yet, I was not being satisfied. Eventually I came to a realization: I was not going to get fulfilled. Only after comparing the experiences of eating healthy food and the experience of eating less fulfilling foods did I realize how great the diet was. I attained a new appreciation for the foods my diet incorporated.

There is a great biblical truth within this little diet escapade: God is the only true fulfillment in life.

Eating the healthy food on the twelve day diet is like relying on God for fulfillment, and eating the fatty sugary foods is like relying on the world for fulfillment. Imagine a person pursuing God for twelve days. As he pursues the all powerful creator, he begins to feel a joy and fulfillment come over him. It is like nothing he has ever felt before. After a few days of relying only on God, he begins to look back at his previous life and its contents. He thinks of playing video games, hanging out with friends, indulging in crude jokes, watching his favorite television show, and essentially living a life where God is absent. For some reason, though he is already getting what he needs by relying on God for fulfillment, a desire comes over him to go back to that life he was living. After surviving the twelve days he gave himself to rely only on God, immediately, he begins to indulge in the things of the world. He plays a few hours of video games, says a really good crude joke, and proceeds to satisfy his worldly desires. Before he knows it the day has come to an end, and he realizes that it was a waste. He isn’t feeling fulfilled; in fact, he is really disappointed with himself. What is the moral of the story? God is man’s only true fulfillment; the world is not. Only after actively pursuing God and finding long lasting fulfillment in Him will we realize how truly empty the world is.

A long time ago I was doing a catechism with my brother. The catechism asked me a very important question: What is man’s primary purpose? The answer was this: To glorify God and enjoy him forever. It is only logical that “what man was created to do” is “what fulfills him”. We were created to Glorify God. In glorifying Him we are going to be fulfilled. God made us in his image. He created us with a capacity to think rationally. Because we can think rationally, we should realize that we were created, and are subject to glorify and enjoy the creator, finding fulfillment only in Him. You have a choice to make. the world is passing away and the enjoyments we find in it. But the Lord God almighty will never pass away.

Will you choose a degenerating world or the never changing all satisfying God? The world presents a temporary, non-lasting and unsatisfying pleasure. God presents a lasting and wonderful fulfillment:
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”(1 John, 2:16-17).