Their god is their stomach

“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:17–21)

In Philippians 3:17-21, Paul references some people whose “god is their stomach,” whose “mind is set on earthly things.” I find that phrase, “their god is their stomach,” both fascinating and convicting. It calls to mind a person who is ruled by their cravings, led by what they want, a slave to their desires.

If I want it, I buy it.
If I crave it, I eat or drink it.
If I see it, I take it.
If I lust after it, I look at it.
If I feel it, I express it.
If it distracts me, I indulge it.

It is easier than ever to become someone whose god is your stomach, someone who instinctively gives in to your cravings. Advances in technology have made buying something or ordering food as simple as clicking a button. It has also led to information on demand, videos on demand, and self-expression on demand through social media platforms. And such self-fulfillment and self-expression is encouraged by a culture that tells us repeatedly slogans like “Have it your way,” “You do you,” “Because you’re worth it,” and “Just do it.” Or, as Sheryl Crow sang 30 years ago, “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.”

And yet, the stomach makes a terrible god. A life curved in on yourself, dedicated to feeding your every craving, is at best shallow and at worst meaningless. The writer of Ecclesiastes discovered this millennia ago, as he indulged his cravings for wisdom, pleasure, and great projects, only to discover that “All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Researchers have called this phenomenon “the hedonic treadmill” - the more you give in to your cravings, the more addicted you become to it, and the need, instead of getting satiated, keeps growing. You have to consume more and more, and you’re never really satisfied.

Thankfully there is a better way. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:24–26, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

The irony is that true freedom does not come from indulging every craving and living with our god as our stomach. Paradoxically, the outcome of indulgence ends up being slavery to our desires and an inability to exercise self-control. Life to the full, as Jesus tells us, comes from following Him, and being willing to trust that everything our hearts are longing for and craving will be fully met in Him. True joy, true peace, true relief, and true ecstasy are not the same as the fleeting pleasure we get from indulging our worldly desires. These realities only come from knowing, worshiping, and following Jesus, and letting Him all that He has given us in service to Him and to others.