Provoke.

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord."- Ephesians 6:4

What is it to provoke someone? What is it to influence a life in corruption? When we interact with people, do they walk away worse than before meeting us?

Nobody wants to admit they could be a contributing cause to the destruction of another because that is a lot to take on, and counseling says that people are responsible for their own actions. All very true, even the painful part of acceptance. However, what if in our pursuit for self-satisfaction we eat up and produce noxious fumes polluting the purity of life along the way? What if on our way to weight-loss we post pictures promoting our thinner physiques as our salvation to an otherwise pathetic self? What if on the way to becoming a doctor we produce long, difficult sentences to show our knowledge, thus superiority? What if in my accepted way of self-promotion I provoke you in a negative way so that you can rely on a book to get better?

Provoking takes away a man's life, leaves them with an internal battle of asking if they are wrong in in their own thought process. Am I wrong because I do not go to the gym everyday and rely on my body image to define me? Am I wrong because I don't feel the need to talk about money or things in life, but values and eternity? Am I wrong because the things I once coveted no longer have any value in my life? All rhetorical of course, for we are man and we are full of ourselves, aren't we?

In my attempts to self-glorify regular gym attendance was mandatory and "lean" foods were the standard. When I worked with clients on these matters, I reinforced their dependence on food and drink by obsessing over what one should and should not do to get to a superficial goal. I cannot take all the credit for these shortcomings, because if it wouldn't have been me they met with, there are many people willing to provoke others in fear that man needs to lose weight to be happy.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you eat and drink, or about your body , what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes."- Matthew 6:25

Gluttony is a sin, because it is a deviation from purity. One that has faith and love in God would not, by this new nature continue to fiend on such high calorie foods. It is not the nature of the Holy Spirit to binge on anything except Christ. Therefore if we have a problem with eating too much, too stimulating of foods, it is not beneficial to address the physical foods, but on our satisfaction in life. Do we obsess over food because we have adopted the belief that this obsession is necessary? Do we rely on stimulating foods to "get us through the day" therefore we are not able to sustain on what God has given us now? Are we seriously admitting that we allow a deviation in our life and justify its presence to the point where we separate ourselves from God's desire for our life because of it?

Think about what really drives behavior. If you need to lose weight, why? If you put on weight, why? If you feel like you should be somewhere else in your career, why? And so on and so forth. Recognizing the provoking done in our culture, lets you see what you should remove, worldly influence, and what you should bring in, God's love. To stick with the old nature of "not good enough" is to continue to provoke others to believe the same.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does.  Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage." - John 14:27

There is more to this life, but typically we only get it by less of the world. Our time is not as much ours as we selfishly think it is. We do have the opportunity to humble ourselves and see that the way we think, act, do, is not always some noble commercialized depiction of purity, but is really our wretched self that is seeking happiness, when it has been apparent since before man.

If letting go of a worldly desire, provoking behavior is a problem there is one solution. Rest assure that the words of the almighty God are true and speak specifically to your woes. In regards to feeling a need to do or be something else, as it relates to the world's standards, hold tightly to a truth we cannot yet fathom in our old, physical minds, and allow the Holy Spirit's works within us consume us.