BREAKING FREE AND LIVING FULL
Philippians 3:19 (ESV) Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
God means for us to live full of joy, purpose, and abundance; but it is in our nature to choose another way. We all willingly trade the possibility of abundant life for a self-inflicted journey downward into the sea of addiction, shame, and increasing misery. The logical order of our demise begins with where we set our minds, which has to do with where we point our desires and thoughts; consequently, righteous living starts in the mind with right thinking, and right thinking is a discipline (Phil 4:8). Being led by their cravings (1 Jn 2:16), ungodly people tend to set their minds on the issues of immediate and sensual gratification. Overeating is a serious sin not much addressed in modern preaching (Prov 23:2), and cravings could refer to actual food; one of the main sins of Sodom was that they were arrogant and overfed (Eze 16:49), which may have been the root of their highly progressed immorality; but, cravings could also be referring to the sinful appetites we can have for physical pleasures. Meditation feeds cravings, and cravings feed behavior. If we meditate on sinful pleasures, actions are certain to follow; both are sins. Jesus says that when a man looks (the act of the eyes) on another woman for lust (the motive of meditation), he has committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt 5:28). Heart adultery is sin and will ultimately lead to the act of adultery, and, when full-grown, death is born (Jms 1:15). Death, or the destiny of destruction mentioned in our verse, is most likely referring to the eternal sentence of hell; but, it could also be referring to the death of meaningful living resulting from the devastating consequence of strongholds and addictions, in other words, the temporal sentence of a living hell.
Living a sinful lifestyle brings shame. Shame, as painful as it is, can be the pathway to repentance and refreshing (Acts 3:19); however, when one is entrenched in their destructive way of life, they can actually take the pain of shame and choose to glory in it, making it a badge of honor, boasting of it with a diabolical form of pride. Is this not what we see in the modern era, where people are “coming out of the closet” and celebrating all sorts of deviant behaviors? Is it not what we see in the “Shout Your Abortion” movement and other vile displays of radical feminism? The shame of their behavior is something they are proud of and choose to glory in. This defiant behavior entrenches the person in addictive and destructive behaviors. Oh, that we would not glory in our shame but let its annoying presence lead us to our most kind, gracious, and merciful God, who is ready to receive, ready to forgive, and ready to restore the abundant life that we so quickly, and ignorantly, throw away. May we set our minds on things above (Col 3:2), renounce the idolatry of our cravings, and live. This kind of living is one of the stated reasons for which Jesus came (Jn 10:10).
