Hello Greatness,

As promised, we continue with the seven deadly sins today. This piece is by one of the few people I’ve met recently who is always interested in letting others know about his love for God. I hope you open up your hearts to read and learn from him as well.

I was so honored when Mz_Ola asked me if I could write about one among the seven deadly sins. I was excited but it was pretty challenging. The reason I was excited is that God has been teaching and dealing with me in this area and it is quite challenging because the act must be developed and be sustained continuously.

It is Gluttony: The great Apostle Paul puts it this way, “Whose god is their belly“. And God gave us a commandment not to have any idol or worship any other god but Him only.

Before I go further, let me mention here the three things satan will always tempt a believer with.

1. Food

2. Lust/pleasure of the world

3. Power and fame.

 But how can food be at the top, someone might ask? The reason is that food is likely to be the first thing satan will always tempt man with. The first thing satan tempted Jesus with was with food, but Jesus disappointed him. When satan came to the garden, the first thing he tempted Eve with was with food. Man lost his dominion in the garden through food. What an eternal disaster it would have been for humanity if Jesus had fallen in the same temptation wherewith the first Adam was tempted with.

God told me, He said, “There are some dimensions of Me in My vastness you may never be able to see or step into with food in your stomach (Gluttony) and sleep in your eyes (Slumber)“. Now this doesn’t mean a person should not eat, but rather, it is a call to be disciplined on how a person eats. Don’t be a slave to your belly.

Satan is very cunny because he uses the immediate to tempt a believer so the believer can loose the ultimate. Esau should be a great example to us. Because of his hunger, he momentarily forfeited his glorious destiny because of his immediate need. Little did he know that he will be hungry again and that his glorious destiny will never be given back to him again. The bible said “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears“. I really love the way MSG Version puts it, “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.” You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. The bible warns us to watch out.

 

This is also a call for us as believers to embrace and cultivate the habit of fasting. Man is a triune being (spirit, soul and body) and all this part must grow. We pay too little or no attention to our spirit and mind, whereas it is the spirit that sustains everything else. The spirit will not grow too well without fasting. The body has to decrease (Fasting) for a particular time momentarily, consciously and continuously for the spirit-man to grow. In this last days, a believer may not go far without embracing this command! “Man should not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of My mouth“.

Ifeanyi Nwafor is the author of Letters to My Friends: The Power of Choice & Purpose. You can find the book here. You can also find him on Instagram @Ifeanyi_nwafor4 .

Thanks a great deal for reading!

With exceeding love,

Mz_Ola.