ap·pe·tite
A natural desire to
satisfy a bodily need, especially for food.
Synonyms: hunger,
ravenousness, hungriness, need for food; taste, palate; desire,
relish; voracity, greed, gluttony, stomach.
A strong desire or
liking for something.
Synonyms: craving,
longing, yearning, hankering, hunger, thirst, passion, relish, lust,
love, zest, gusto, avidity, ardor.
Questions:
(Scriptures from
the New American Standard Bible)
How can a person’s
appetite be a negative attribute?
Numbers 11:4-6 “...The
rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of
Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat? "We
remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers
and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now
our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to
look at except this manna..."
Proverbs 23:1-3 “...When
you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before
you, And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of
great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For it is
deceptive food....”
Habakkuk 2:5
"...Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he
does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite
like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to
himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples...”
Philippians 3:17-19
“...Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those
who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of
whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are
enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose
god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame,
who set their minds on earthly things...”
How can a person’s
appetite be a positive attribute?
Proverbs 16:26 “...A
worker's appetite works for him, For his hunger
urges him on...”
What we love is what we
pursue. What determines whether or not our pursuit will lead to
satisfaction?
Ecclesiastes 5:10 “...He
who loves money will not be satisfied with
money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is
vanity...”
Ecclesiastes 6:7 “...All
a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not
satisfied...”
Ezekiel 7:19 “...They
will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become
an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to
deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They
cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their
stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling...”
Micah 6:14 "...You
will eat, but you will not be satisfied, And
your vileness will be in your midst. You will try to remove for
safekeeping, But you will not preserve anything, And what you do
preserve I will give to the sword...”
Haggai 1:6 "...You
have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not
enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough
to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and
he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes..."
Proverbs 13:25 “...The
righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need...”
Philippians 4:11-13
“...Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to
be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to
get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in
prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret
of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and
suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens
me...”
Hebrews 13:5 “...Make
sure that your character is free from the love of money, being
content with what you have; for He Himself has
said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,..."
What or whom do we love
and therefore pursue?
Luke 10:27 “...And
he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR
HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH
ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF..."
