This is the fourth post in our series on why diets will never work:

3. Man-made rules…“they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence…” Diets do not get to the root problem—sensual desires. There is something about chewing and swallowing, chewing and swallowing; notice that overeaters often keep drinks beside them for sucking and swallowing or gum in their mouths. The fact is, man-made rules increase sensual desires, whether this be for food, alcoholism, tobacco, depression, theft, praise of man, materialism, or children’s out-of-control behaviors. This is the dilemma: pills, liquid fasts, appetite suppressants, and counting fat grams change your environment temporarily, but do not change your sensual desires. They impose a harsh treatment on the body that works temporarily; however, you cannot keep up man-made rules. Colossians 2 above points out that the regulations that men impose are strict and harsh on the body (plastic sweat suits, liquid concoctions, metabolism pills, etc.) and they make God look legalistic and unfeeling. Likewise, suction-assisted lipectomies do not help to stop your indulgence, so they are a waste of funds. So many times people who even survive the gastric-bypass surgery wind up gaining their weight back because it did nothing to check their sensual indulgence. However, this verse is also about the uselessness of man-made rules over God’s rules. Primarily, they will have no value in restraining the root problem… overindulgence.

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