You might never have thought of Him this way, but did you know that Jesus spent more continuous time fighting gluttony than any other sin problem?

We know from the Bible that Jesus left the carpenter shop at the age of 30. His baptism by John the Baptist marked the beginning of his public ministry for the salvation of humanity.

With his public ministry came His experiences overcoming public temptations.

The first item on Jesus’ agenda was to show us that gluttony can be controlled. He was driven to the desert by the Holy Spirit where He prayed and meditated on His up-coming mission. During this time He was without food. Day after day Jesus became more and more hungry.

After nearly six weeks of fasting Jesus was starving and near death. It was at this vulnerable point that the Devil tempted Jesus with food. Though famished, Jesus spoke the words that every glutton today can memorize and live by. “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4, NIV)

No matter how hungry you may be, or how much you want to eat something that isn’t healthy – if you put God first in your life, gluttony can be controlled. God comes first, food comes second. This is the only way overeating can be cured.

Ellen White, a classic spiritual author, when writing of Christ’s temptations, said, “The conflict of Christ with Satan in the wilderness will be regarded with sacred interest by every true follower of Christ. We should have feelings of the deepest gratitude to our Redeemer for teaching us by his own example how to resist and overcome Satan.” (Review and Herald, March 4, 1875)

(This article is part of a series on gluttony. View: <Previous Next>)