For this month, instead of speaking on a particular health topic, I wish to talk about the greatest violation of the laws of health, the indulgence of appetite. God gave mankind the Ten Commandments as well as the laws of health. They go very much hand in hand. It is impossible to keep the Ten Commandments while violating natural law.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. The earth was beautiful and majestic, with magnificent trees, colourful flowers, and rolling hills. Animals of all kinds filled the seas, sky and on the dry ground. After he was done creating the rest of the world, on the sixth day God created Adam, and gave him dominion over all the living things on the earth.
When Adam was created, he was made perfect, both in physical beauty, and having a mind that was in harmony with God and His will. He had no tendencies to disease, and his mind had no inclination towards evil. As long as he remained obedient to the laws of God, including the laws of health, He would preserve his health—spiritually, emotionally, and physically. “Man was the crowning act of the creation of God, made in the image of God, and designed to be a counterpart of God.” –The Review and Herald, June 18, 1895
“Our natural inclinations and appetites. . . were divinely appointed, and when given to man, were pure and holy. It was God’s design that reason should rule the appetites, and they should minister to our happiness. And when they are regulated and controlled by a sanctified reason, they are holiness unto the Lord.” –Manuscript 47, 1896
Adam and Eve had everything they needed to ensure their happiness. God had held nothing back from them except a warning not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Despite all what God had provided for them, Eve was curious about the fruit from the forbidden tree. After straying from her husband’s side, the serpent was able to tempt Eve into desiring the fruit of the only tree that God withheld from her. She did not need this fruit from the tree of knowledge, but she allowed her appetite and her curiosity to override her reason. The fruit looked beautiful, and she wondered how death could be concealed in the fruit of this tree. Satan tempted her into believing that God was deliberately preventing them from eating of the tree to keep them in subordination to Him, to withhold knowledge and power from them. She was fascinated by the fact that in eating the fruit, she could be elevated to the level of God, knowing both good and evil.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6
Eve fell under the temptation of appetite, but she began by deliberately disregarding another of God’s commands. She was told to stay by her husband’s side, but she wandered off. She then approached the tree and saw that it looked good. To her it was more desirable than the fruit of all the other trees. And then, the serpent was able to influence her into making a wrong decision. It was not only the eating of the fruit, but what it could give her that enticed her, to elevate her to the level of God. She was desiring the kind of knowledge that God, in His mercy and love towards her and Adam, withheld from her, the knowledge of sin.
Because of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace in the indulgence of appetite, sin entered into the world, and death from sin. And we are now all subject to death because of this sin.
When Satan tempted Adam and Eve into sin on the point of appetite, he realized that he could use appetite to tempt many others. And over the next 6,000 years, this has been the principal temptation of Satan’s to bring mankind into the degraded, corrupt condition that existed already in the time of Noah and continues to our time. Satan realized that if he was to tempt man into intemperance, into indulgence of appetite and other corrupt passions, it would lead to many other evils. Indulgence of appetite has been the special snare of Satan that has brought many people, cities, and even nations to everlasting destruction.
When we think of the word “indulgence” we often use it in context of gratifying our appetite, or being lenient or permissive, like giving into the wishes of a child. Indulgence typically has a negative connotation, in that we are doing something that we should not be doing. Often indulging appetite is eating something that is unhealthy or forbidden. And, indulging a child is often giving a child permission to do something that the child desires, but we know to be harmful to the child, such as allowing a child to stay up past their regular bedtime.
Another word which is often used in the place of indulgence is intemperance. If we look at the opposite word, temperance, it is defined as having moderation in actions, thoughts, and feelings. Often it refers to moderation from the indulgence of appetites or passions, from the excesses of luxury. It also is used in the context of voluntarily refraining from negative emotions or actions towards other people. The Ten Commandments teach temperance towards our fellow man, we restrain from extremes such as violence, hatred, and lying.
Intemperance, on the other hand, is the “excessive indulgence of an appetite or a passion.” This not only refers to food and drink, but also other passions of the flesh. When appetite is indulged it leads to more and worse sins, until the person is under the complete control of Satan.
“Intemperance in eating and drinking, leading as it does to the indulgence of the lower passions, prepares the way for men to disregard all moral obligations. When assailed by temptation, they have little power of resistance.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 378
“He [Satan] exulted that Adam and Eve in Eden could not resist his insinuations when he appealed to their appetite. The inhabitants of the old world he overcame in the same manner, through the indulgence of lustful appetite and corrupt passions. Through the gratification of appetite, he had overthrown the Israelites.” –Temperance, p. 13
Since man fell into sin, appetite has been Satan’s main tool to draw people away from God. The antediluvian world had gone away from God and were committing the most grievous sins. “Since the first surrender to appetite, mankind have been growing more and more self-indulgent, until health has been sacrificed on the altar of appetite. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world were intemperate in eating and drinking. They would have flesh-meats, although God had at that time given man no permission to eat animal food. They ate and drank till the indulgence of their depraved appetite knew no bounds, and they became so corrupt that God could bear with them no longer. Their cup of iniquity was full, and He cleansed the earth of its moral pollution by a flood.” –Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 43
“This prevailing sin, the indulgence of perverted appetite, inflamed the passions of men in the days of Noah, and led to widespread corruption. Violence and sin reached to heaven.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 145. The wickedness was so great that “every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5
The sin was not in the eating and drinking, but how they ate and drank. It was lawful to eat and drink. But they corrupted God’s gifts by carrying them to extremes and using them to minister to their selfish desires. They did it to excess, thus losing all desire for spiritual things. As a result of their perverted appetites, their imaginations became corrupted, all manner of sin was the result. God had to destroy them. Sister White says they were “slaves of Satan, led and controlled by him.”
After the flood, man quickly forgot God and the lessons learned from the destruction of the antediluvian world. It did not take long before he his indulgence of appetite led to greater wickedness and crime. Man’s heart was no longer ruled by reason or by the law of God.
Even though God promised there would not be another
flood, entire cities have been removed from the face of the earth because of the gratification of unnatural appetites. We have the example of Sodom and Gomorrah; the inhabitants of those cities became so depraved and wicked that God removed them from the face of the earth.
Christ warns the world: “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17:28–30
When reading these verses, it describes many activities that were common to everyone. But the sins that followed from their eating and drinking to excess was what caused their ruin. “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Ezekiel 16:49. We are reminded of the seriousness of the sins of Sodom when Lot’s wife turned back and looked longingly at the city, and was instantly turned into a pillar of salt. She had fled Sodom, but her heart remained there.
“God ascribes the fall of Babylon to her gluttony and drunkenness. Indulgence of appetite and passion was the foundation of all their sins.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 43
We read the example of the children of Israel. God had just delivered them from dreadful bondage by a mighty show of miracles, they had been led through the Red Sea, and seen their enemy destroyed in the waters of the sea. Yet, they soon forgot what God had done for them, and began to complain about the conditions in the desert. They worried that their food would run out and they would starve to death in the wilderness.
God had not forgotten them, and he provided the perfect food to sustain them on their journey, He fed them with manna, “angel’s food.” During their journey to Canaan, God withheld flesh meats from the Israelites “because He knew that the use of this diet would create disease and insubordination.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 375. However, the people murmured and complained about the diet God provided for them. Often it was the “mixed multitude” who Satan tempted first, inciting them into murmuring against Moses’ leading. They did not have faith in God but left Egypt to escape the plagues. These Egyptians were accustomed to a luxurious diet, and they were the first to complain about the simple manna they were to eat.
God decided to give the people what they were clamoring for. “He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by His power He brought in the south wind. He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl like as the sand of the sea. . . So they did eat, and were well filled: for He gave them their own desire; They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.” Psalm 78:26–27, 29–31
On the surface, the children of Israel’s desire for meat was to gratify their appetites for the types of food they had left behind in Egypt, while complaining of the manna provided by God. Their appetites had been depraved through the many years of living in Egypt. However, they also lusted for the luxuries left behind in Egypt; despite traveling to Canaan and freedom, their hearts remained in Egypt. This led to indulge their appetite for the forbidden fruits of Egypt, and ultimately caused the downfall of the children of Israel in their wilderness travel. Because of this sin, they were led to commit more sin, continually murmuring against God’s leading, until finally they were not permitted to enter into the Promised Land. “Under Satan’s direct temptations the children of Israel suffered appetite to control reason, and they were, through indulgence, led to commit grievous sins which awakened the wrath of God against them, and they fell in the wilderness.” –Confrontation, p. 39
“If the Israelites had been obedient to the words of God, He would have bestowed upon them special blessings. But they fell in consequence of the indulgence of appetite and passion. They would not be obedient to the words of God. Indulgence of perverted appetite led them into numerous and grievous sins. If they had made the requirements of God their first consideration, and their physical wants secondary, in submission to God’s choice of proper food for them, not one of them would have fallen in the wilderness. They would have been established in the goodly land of Canaan, a holy, happy, people with not a feeble one in all their tribe.” –Ibid., p. 43
Many men of God were tempted by appetite. David had become king; he had just had a great victory over the Ammonites. Sister White says that he became enticed by the sins of self-exaltation, flattery, power, and luxuries. And he began to trust in his own power and wisdom. After this the sin of passion caused him to give in to temptation when he viewed Bathsheba’s beauty from the top of his palace. He committed the sin of adultery. Unfortunately, this led to Bathsheba becoming pregnant, so David compounded his sin by hiding this fact. David arranged to have Uriah brought home, so that the pregnancy could be assumed to be from Bathsheba’s husband. But, Uriah being an honourable man refused to lie with his wife while his comrades were on the battlefield. So then David had to go a step further to cover up his sin, and arranged for Uriah to be killed in the battlefield; he committed the sin of murder. Unlike many others who fell into the sin of indulging appetites and were lost, David repented and God forgave him, even calling him “a man after my own heart.” However, David reaped a bitter harvest, by losing the son he had with Bathsheba. God taught that even those who are honoured by the Lord are not safe from falling into sin.
When Solomon was a young king, God said to him, Ask what I shall give thee? He did not ask for riches, or glory or power, but an understanding heart to judge the people. God granted him wisdom, but also gave him riches and honour. His wisdom was known worldwide; among the kings of the earth, there was not another like him, either before or after him. When he was young, he trusted in God, and looked to Him for guidance. But he was overcome by temptations that came through his prosperity. He lived a luxurious life. His appetite was gratified by the most expensive foods. Sister White says, “The effects of this luxurious living, and the free use of wine, finally clouded his intellect, and caused him to depart from God. He entered into rash and sinful marriage relations with idolatrous women.” –The Health Reformer, April 1, 1878. His wives led him into idolatry and much of his life was wasted in idolatrous practices and he separated from God. In later years, Solomon returned to God. But, he recognized the many years he wasted. “Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Ecclesiastes 2:17
We have the example of Esau, and his indulgence of appetite. “Esau had a special, strong desire for a particular article of food, and he had so long gratified self that he did not feel the necessity of turning from the tempting coveted dish. He thought upon it, making no special effort to restrain his appetite, until the power of appetite bore down every other consideration, and controlled him, and he imagined that he would suffer great inconvenience, and even death, if he could not have that particular dish. The more he thought upon it, the more his desire strengthened, until his birthright, which was sacred, lost its value and its sacredness.”–Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p 38
Esau had fallen prey to a momentary gratification of appetite, that “had never been restrained.” He didn’t value the blessing of the birthright when it was rightfully his. But, when he saw what he had done, it was too late to recover the blessing. Esau could repent of his sin, but still there was no recovering of the birthright that he gave up. His grief did not spring from conviction of sin; he did not desire to be reconciled to God. He sorrowed because of the results of his sin, but not for the sin itself.
Esau represents those who value very little the things pertinent to their salvation. . . . If they have a choice between gratifying their depraved appetite or the heavenly blessings that come from self-denial, they choose appetite, and God and heaven are rejected. The way is too narrow, and they succumb to their lustful desires, and they no longer walk with God’s people. “So it will be in the day of God with those who have bartered their heirship to heaven for selfish gratifications.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 182
We have seen from examples in the Bible the grave consequences of the indulgence of appetite. We too must be mindful of the power of appetite to draw us away from God. Satan is increasing his attacks as he knows the end is near. Every follower of Jesus that he can lure away from the narrow path is one less person’s sin he must suffer for in the final destruction of the wicked. “To every soul Satan comes with temptation in many alluring forms on the point of indulgence of appetite.” –A Call to Stand Apart, p. 56
NEXT MONTH: VICTORY OVER APPETITE