I’ve been thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. I suppose weight management might be the number one New Year’s Resolution. I was reading the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. He was probably one of the greatest theologians and preachers ever in America. He wrote his resolutions in his youth and tried to follow them all his life. They are very lofty and deeply spiritual as was the man. Two of his list of life-long resolutions included moderation in eating and drinking. Here they are:
20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.
40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could with respect to eating and drinking.
He said, “I think I find myself much more sprightly and healthy both in body and mind for my self denial in eating and drinking and sleeping.”
He was incredibly productive. He saw moderation as a spiritual discipline. He also knew that moderation contributed to his great productivity.
There are a few more reasons to learn moderation in eating. Moderation in eating contributes to spiritual life and moderation in eating gives you greater energy and productivity.
You might begin to write down everything you eat for a while. You could do this at night and then commit the matter of your moderation to the Lord in prayer. He likes to hear from his children when they need him and I am convinced that many of us who struggle with a tendency toward overweight are blessed to have an area of our lives where we must live in conscious and continual dependence upon Him.
