# Training Our Appetites

I suppose most of us are familiar with the story of Daniel, a time when Israel was in bondage to the babylonian king and its people. But of all these people who were in exile, Nebuchadnezzar made a task to select the most abled young men from Judah, to bring them into the palace, in an attempt to reprogram their minds, give them a new literature, a new kind of mindset, a new system of values. The bible narrates a story of at least 4 of them. When they were put into the palace, notice what was the first thing the king tried to do, he tried to soften him up, banqueting them, wining and dining, and here Daniel drew his first Le, he drew his Le of resistance by training his appetite. Verse 8, Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank. He said he didn't want all this luxurious food, he wanted a simple diet and he would be happy and content. What is the lesson we can learn here? You and I are responsible in our lives for training our hunger
s and training our passions.

We are filled with hungers. We have physical hungers, emotional hungers, intellectual hungers, relational hungers, spiritual hungers and it is very important in a discipLed way that we train what we begin to enjoy and shun what we know can get us softened up and lose ourselves to the service to the King of kings.

How did Daniel do it? He learned to resist it early enough, so he wouldn't get trapped into the lifestyle that he got used to these desires. If you came into contact with blood contaminated with HIV or hepatitis, all it takes for you to be at risk with these life threatening diseases is as simple as a tiny accidental paper cut on your finger. A simple tiny paper cut. If one little cut in a finger can put this physical body at risk, think of how often you and I put ourselves at risk spiritually if we do not draw the Les of our appetite and train them so that we don't come away with those paper cuts that could ultimately be more destructive than we can ever imagine.

"Money comes, money goes. Lifestyle comes, lifestyle stays."

Teach me to number my days, that I may incLe my heart to wisdom.