Are you struggling with some form of overindulgence? We have outlined a five-step process to help you change and heal in this area of your life. Take all the time you need with each of the steps in this article.
Step 1: Adopt a Correct View of God
If you are overindulgent with yourself, it is important that you understand God better as the loving Father. He has promised you that He will always provide for your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. You do not need to stuff yourself with whatever you can get your hands on.
God is all-knowing. He designed you and knows what would make you the happiest.
“I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
God is love. He will always give you only what is good for you.
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. (James 1:17)
God is faithful. He will always provide for your needs.
The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. (Psalm 84:11)
Do not let a warped view of God justify your overindulgent lifestyle any longer. Undertake a search of Scripture for passages that depict God as your provider who satisfies you.
Step 2: Revise Your False Beliefs
God has called you to a life of holiness and moderate living. When you choose a different course for life, it proves that you really do not believe God will hold you accountable for your actions.
The following questions are designed to expose false beliefs of overindulgence.
Do you believe you have the right to party excessively?
You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. (1 Peter 4:3)
Do you believe you have no choice in controlling your appetites?
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. (Romans 8:12)
Do you believe you are not responsible for your sinful overindulgence?
We are each responsible for our own conduct. (Galatians 6:5)
Try as you may, you just cannot lay the responsibility for your excessive self-indulgence on the shoulders of anyone other than yourself. Learn from Scripture what is really true about self-indulgent behavior versus self-control.
Step 3: Repent of Your Sin
You must make the decision to turn away from your lifestyle of overindulgence and to disconnect your heart, mind, and spirit from that which enslaves you. Give your particular type of over-indulgence a name (drunkenness, gluttony, or whatever else it may be).
Confess your sin to God and ask His forgiveness. If you wish, you can use the following prayer (inserting your own sin in the blank).
Father, I have sinned against you by _________. I know that this hurts You, and I am sorry for that. Please forgive me for the sake of Christ. Make me clean, Lord, removing from my heart the desires that have enslaved me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, and through Him give me the strength to walk the path of righteousness one day at a time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
If you have harmed others with your sin, apologize to them. Seek reconciliation and offer restitution where appropriate.
Step 4: Defend against Spiritual Attacks
Now that you have repented and been set free from your sin, this freedom must be defended. You have to understand the tactics of your enemies and defend against them accordingly.
- The world tells you, “It’s your body and you can do what you want with it.” Overcome the world system by rejecting such a distorted value. Embrace the value God places on self-control and moderation over self-indulgence. Listen to Him and not to the world.
- Your flesh wants the gratifications of physical sensations. So when such desires arise, remember that your flesh is dead; you are now living by the Spirit. You do not have to do what your flesh wants.
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8)
- Satan will encourage you to satisfy your desires for excessive self-indulgence. Hold up the “shield of faith” to stop the fiery arrows of the devil (Ephesians 6:16), showing you realize that ungodly self-indulgence does not offer lasting satisfaction.
The temptation to overindulge oneself tends to be especially persistent in a person’s life. Plan on remaining vigilant toward your enemies’ attacks for the rest of your life. The battle is long, but in God’s power you can be victorious.
Step 5: Flee Temptation
Take proactive measures if you wish to remain free from the sin of overindulgence. By reducing temptation, you can improve the chances of your success.
Focus on your relationship with God.
Start every day with God. Give Him your attention and devotion instead of concentrating on the thing that once held you captive to your selfish desires. Consider fasting periodically as a reminder that “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Latch on to God’s promises.
Find truths in Scripture that will encourage you in your resistance to the temptations of overindulgence. Memorize key verses for recall when you need them. Here is one verse we recommend:
The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22–23, emphasis added)
Establish safeguards.
What situations tend to encourage your excessive self-indulgence? Take decisive action to avoid those situations as much as possible. For example:
- If you are irresponsible in your eating, plan reasonable menus a week at a time and buy only what you will need.
- If you get drunk, remove all the alcohol from your house, ask your friends not to serve alcohol when you are around, and never go to an eating establishment that serves liquor.
- If you watch too much TV, get rid of your television set or put a timer on it.
- Ask a trusted Christian friend to hold you accountable in your commitment to not overindulge.
Expect victory.
You have the Spirit of God living in you and imparting to you everything you need to win this fight. Yield to Him daily in anticipation of total deliverance from your sin habit. When you do this, He will replace your self-indulgent desires with moderation and self-control.