Put a Knife to Your Throat

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
                      ~Proverbs 23:1-3 ESV

Someone might read these words of wisdom and think, "I'll be careful next time I sit down to eat with a ruler.  Not going to happen any time soon.  It's not like the Queen of England or POTUS will invite me to tea at Buckingham Palace or the White House."

 EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU EAT,

   YOU SIT DOWN WITH A RULER.

You are a slave.  I know it is hard for some people to comprehend, but the Bible is clear in Romans 6: You are either a slave to righteousness, serving Christ, or a slave to sin, serving Satan.  You may not know it.  You may not believe it.  It's true, nonetheless.  Read Matt Slick's article, The Methodology of Satan, to understand more.

So, when you sit down to eat, you sit down with a Ruler.

The question is, which Ruler are you thinking about as you observe what is before you on the table?

Daniel was offered all sorts of delicacies, but he resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food.  He paid no attention to the King of Babylon.  He was thinking about the King of Kings.

Every time I sit down to eat, I resolve to think about my Ruler.  It is a battle I must wage in my mind.  I've struggled with weight issues all of my life, from the time I was about 14 years old.  A broken leg left me immobile for weeks, and I gained about 30 pounds.  Since then, my weight has been an issue.

A few years ago I lost nearly 50 lbs, and kept most of it off for a couple of years.  It slowly started to pile back on and I was thinking I'd have to do something about it, then I broke three bones in my foot.  Three months later I am sitting here with an extra 30 lbs.  I can blame the broken bones, the wheelchair, the lack of activity... but the truth is, I should have paid attention.   I should have made wiser choices, knowing that this would be a struggle.  I chose to ignore the tighter clothes, the flabby belly - I chose the excuses (It's Christmas!) and refused to face reality.

I chose to ignore the voice of my Saviour.  I wanted to eat those delicacies.

I Chose to Pay NO Attention to His Voice

Listen with undivided attention!

I know I can pay no attention to my King, and succumb to the wiles of the prince of this world, who seeks only to destroy my health and my testimony.  His food is deceptive food - designed to kill.  "Just a little tasty treat," he hisses.  "You can diet tomorrow.  You know it tastes really good.  And after all, God made all things, so this is His gift."   His words are twisted lies.

My Lord Jesus only wants what is best for me.

I am His slave, and He loves me.  He wants me to hear His voice, and He wants to give me life and health and strength to serve my husband and family at home.  He wants me to learn to mortify the flesh and exercise self-control.  He wants me to stop making excuses.

Dear Lord Jesus, Ruler of my Heart,
Teach me to put a knife to my throat in the face of my enemies - lust, appetite, delicacies, driving desires.  You fasted for 40 days and nights in the wilderness.  Teach me how to deny myself.  Help me to resist the devil so that he will flee from me.  Keep my heart and mind turned toward You, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. I want to keep my eyes on You, to keep my ears tuned to Your voice, to listen to You with my whole heart and with undivided attention.  May it be, dear Lord.  Amen.

You don't have to fight alone.

Make no mistake, you ARE in a battle, if you are a child of God.  There's a war going on, and Satan is at the helm of the enemy lines.  He is out to destroy.  He wants to 

• ruin lives, 
• ruin marriages, 
• ruin testimonies, 
• ruin families.  

We are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Corinthians 2: 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (Satan's designs are to destroy the mutual forgiveness, love, and unity that is to characterize God's people as those who have been reconciled to God through Christ.)

We are not ignorant of his devices.  

• He wants to separate friends.  
• He wants to keep us suspicious of one another.  
• He wants us to be jealous or envious or greedy or selfish.  

The attacks come when we're alone, and vulnerable.  They come when we are out of sorts, feeling abandoned, feeling hurt and forsaken.  Satan and his minions are not idiots.  They don't bother us when we're strong, when we have our "peeps" in our corner.  They lie in wait, biding their time, until they get the chance.  


This is why we MUST NOT be alone.


God didn't plan for His children to be "lone wolves".  He planned for us to be in community, in families, in churches, walking side by side with others in the same battle.  


When you're under attack, tempted to sin, feeling yourself slipping away, ready to fall, what do you do?  Do you retreat into a pity-party, telling yourself that you need that thing, or want that illicit relationship, or can't live without that... whatever.  


When you're under attack, do you retreat?  Do you try to stand on your own two feet?


That's the last thing you should do.


Jay Adams (in his book, The War Within) tells us what to do.


When you're in need of  help, 

"It is not wrong for you to ask for it.  Indeed, you could do nothing more important, if you find yourself in the thick of the battle, losing your fight with the flesh.  Call; call now!  Call for reinforcements.  Don't wait until you have lost the battle.  Don't wait until someone else must call for the stretcher-bearers.  Call for others to stand beside you and help you, so that you may win the battle for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Did you notice those last words: "for the sake of Jesus Christ"?  Yes, that should overcome your reluctance to seek help.  You are not merely fighting a battle of your own; this is the Lord's battle, and it is to be won for His glory.  

How dare you assume that this battle is yours?  Who do you think you are?  How can you say, "It's my business whether I win or lose?"  How can you tell others who want to help you to "mind their own business"?  Fighting the Lord's battles is the business of the whole church." 

We are all in the Lord's army.  There are no private battles.  If you're struggling with sins of the flesh, with the lust of the eyes, with the pride of life, call for help.  If you're struggling with relationships, with your marriage or family, with sinful patterns that are entrenched in your life and affecting your loved ones, call for help.   If you go it alone, your marriage will fail, or you'll fall into sin, or you'll make the wrong choice.  


We're in a battle, but we're not in it alone.  Swallow your pride, and seek reinforcements.  Call for help.  

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.  

                                                              ~Galatians 6:2