12“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. (1 Coriinthians 6:12-14)
Thoughts: We should not be controlled by our appetite. We should control our appetite. What Paul is saying is just because we want something temporary doesn't mean it is best for us in the long run. Sexual appetite is a gift from God, but it should never get in the way of God. We can worship ourselves by worshiping our identity or our appetite.
The danger in the West now is that we have been trained by endless commercials and others to think it is all about what we want. We have become a consumer society that is consumed with whatever we want. To go along with this, many begin to think they have a sense of entitlement, as if no one should tell us no- not even God. It is not just some of the poor have a sense of entitlement. The attitude of many is that we deserve what we want, and God is just the One who gives us what we want. But God does not exist so we can worship ourselves. We should not be mastered by anything- our appetites or our bodies. We are not merely the sum of our desires or animal-like instincts. The human spirit inside of us- our soul- should control our bodies not the other way around. We are God's. Our bodies and souls are God's. Nothing should destroy this.
Prayer: Lord, keep me from being mastered by my desires. Give me the grace to turn away from desires that hurt myself, hurt others, or hurt my relationship with you.
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