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Appetites


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One of the under-managed disciplines in our day is our runaway appetites. Appetites today are fueled by our phones and the Internet. All you need is an internet connection and every purchase is just a click away. The Proverbs writer tells us to control the appetite, and Jeremiah speaks about self-deception and the consequences of excessive desires.

 

So, overeating, binge purchasing, and overly consumed entertainment are all out of control in our culture. Appetites are fed by giving into them. They say 84% of Americans overspend and almost 40% say they overeat. Also, Americans spend 3-4 hours a day watching television. Appetites need training, otherwise giving in to them will only incur more appetite. Jesus said to hunger and thirst after righteousness, then you will be satisfied. Appetite or discipline … it’s your choice.

 

I have said for years that culture is no friend to you or your family. When my children were growing up, they would say to me, “Well Dad, everyone is doing it.” They were probably right … everyone was doing it. When my kids were in grade school, I remember they would come home and tell my wife and I about the conversations some of the kids had with them at school. They told us about the sexually-themed movies they had watched and how they thought they were funny. We learned in a hurry there were many homes without parental guidance on what kids were watching. In those days, television and cable was usually the only provider of viewing sexual movies, but today the phone has easy access to pornography. They tell us that 60% of Americans view pornography at various times in their lives. In the past month, 44% of men and 11% of women said they have viewed pornography. Again, stats can be slanted to give false impressions too, we all know that, but we all know how accessible pornography is in today’s electronic world. The appetite for pornography is growing every year. This recent headline gives us a warning of what to expect next in our cultural war on morality: “A Christian religious liberty group is warning that an ongoing photography exhibit at a Texas museum could lead to the normalization of pedophilia and abuse after authorities reportedly seized obscene images from the exhibit.”

 

The appetite for the explicit sexual images and practices will not stop with homosexuality and transgenderism, these are the appetizers to the much more horrific practice of pedophilia. Here are some statistics:


  • 93.6% of sexual abuse offenders are men

  • Their average age is 38 years

  • 95.4% are United States citizens

 

Sexual attraction to children is often a silent offense. It happens often in homes with relatives and occupants of that home. There are all kinds of psychological reasons for pedophilia, which I am not qualified to speak on, but here are some results of sexual child abuse:

 

A study of 200 juvenile and adult street prostitutes documented extremely high levels of sexual child abuse in their background. Sixty percent of the subjects were sexually exploited by an average of two people each, over an average period of 20 months. Two-thirds were sexually abused by father figures. The abuse had extremely negative emotional, physical, and attitudinal impacts. Seventy percent of the women reported that the sexual exploitation definitely affected their decision to become a prostitute. ~A review of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse 1992, Child Abuse and Neglect

 

Appetites grow as they are fed, and their effects are not contained in a vacuum … they will always involve and affect others. Out of control human appetites occur in a variety of ways, from overeating to sexual exploitation, but regardless of what your desire is, the solution is usually found in a spiritual connection:

 

Jeremiah 17:9 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

 

This is the condition of the human heart for all appetites. This condition can only be remedied by God:

 

Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

 

This new covenant we know is Jesus Christ, and the revelation the New Testament explains about who He is and what He came to do.  The change of the human heart needs God’s help … this is how a heart is changed, through faith and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. One of the most healing Verses in Scripture is a definition of God’s mercy: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him.”

 

If God says He will not judge me if I believe in Jesus, then I am no longer guilty of what I have done in my life.  That Verse goes on to say: “But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

 

So, believing in Jesus is not only our change agent for our incurable hearts, it is our freedom from being judged by God, which in turn gives us access to the promise of everlasting life in Jesus. How can it get any better than that? Our appetite changes at this point. Our appetite shifts to wanting to know God, and to make Him known. Now, that is the good side of an appetite … get hungry and stay hungry for God.

 

Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler

 

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