“Sugar free” gospel
A friend of mine reached out to me recently and tearfully confided that her Ex had been coming back around. He was the controlling type: manipulative, dishonest, and downright cruel. His behavior made her feel less than others and isolated her from those she loved. As she whispered slowly, I could hear the shame falling down her cheeks. I brought the phone closer to my ear, hoping she could sense the warmth of my presence, even though we were standing in different kitchens, miles apart. Taking a deep breath, I prayed for the right words. I wanted to comfort her and speak the truth in perfect love, trusting that the Holy Spirit would touch her heart as I tried to offer a steady sounding board to catch her balance. I wished we were face-to-face so I could cup her chin, look into her eyes, and say pointedly, “Friend, you broke up with him for a good reason. He was stealing your joy, your peace, your sanity. To allow him access to your mind and heart again is to get back on the merry-go-round of pain and regret. You fought so hard to leave him the first time; one glance back can send you reeling on a downward spiral. You gave him all your time and energy, but he never loved you, not if you’re honest. He never so much as uttered one kind word or displayed an ounce of tenderness, just a bully through and through.”
Her silence spoke a million words, none of which I needed her to say. Truth spoken in love can be as sharp as a double-edged sword, dividing bone from marrow and beckoning us to discern right from wrong, light from dark, and reality from denial. I gently pressed into the quiet, reminding her he never considered her well-being, often leaving her ashamed and insecure.
Her Ex’s name is Ed; perhaps you’ve dated him, too? “Ed”—a polite nickname for what’s otherwise referred to as an eating disorder. The truth is that I, too, had a long-term relationship with this deceptive scoundrel for many years, and the break-up was just as brutal. That's why my friend reached out to me because she knew Jesus had set me free from the grips of this abusive foe. He does that, you know. He uses our redeemed suffering for the good of helping others and for His glory. Like the Israelites fleeing Egypt, our freedom will always magnify the God who delivers us from evil. The truth is, bondage is bondage, no matter if it's in Egypt or the comfort of our own kitchen.
My friend didn’t need to hear anything she didn’t already know. She is a believer, and we believers can handle hard Truth. We invite it. We know it’s the one thing that will set us free. The enemy loves to distort reality and tangle our emotions. He is the father of lies and the culprit behind dis-ordered thinking. She needed to be reminded that Satan loves to dis-order our lives by taking one small piece of it at a time. He systematically dis-orders our priorities, relationships, and families, and then the dis-order of food, time, and confusion sets in. The progression sneaks up on us while we are unaware, and before we know it, we are entertaining patterns that inevitably lead to empty cisterns. She didn’t need to be coddled; she needed to be confronted with the Word of God. As her sister in Christ, I spoke what Jesus spoke to the enemy in the wilderness… “It is written.” These three words are ammunition in the battle waging against us. I told her she was allowing the enemy to starve her while simultaneously devouring her. It was time to take her thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (Philippians 4:8). We have been given the mind of Christ, and it’s our responsibility as believers to be good stewards of our minds. Feasting on the truth of God’s word will always reap a bountiful harvest of generous fruit. The enemy hates fruit. He is hell-bent on every believer dying of spiritual malnutrition. We need to remember and remind each other often of the sacrifice given to us by Jesus himself: His body and His blood.
We are invited to His lavish table, overflowing with grace, to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). When we do not actively take our thoughts captive, we risk living disordered lives. Whether it's food or any other addiction, we risk depriving ourselves of God's presence.
God is a God of order, not chaos. His Word will always fill us up and give us the power to close the door on the enemy's lies. If I'm honest, I’m not sure if I was reminding her or reassuring myself at this point.
A subtle cue that she needed to tend to something else made her voice trail off to say a polite goodbye. “Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table!” I managed to squeeze in before we hung up.
The next day, I received a simple text: “Thank you for the ‘sugar-free’ words of encouragement. Smiley face emoji, prayer hands, heart.”
I smiled at her choice of words: “Sugar-free.”
What if we all spoke a sugar-free Word of encouragement to someone struggling? Maybe a watered-down version of the gospel isn’t setting the captives free because we are offering an overly sweetened version of the Bread of Life. Perhaps the additives we are adding to the Word to make it more appealing distort the integrity of its supernatural, life-giving sustenance.
One thing I know for sure: The Bread of Life is plenty sweet. “The Israelites called the bread manna, and it was white like coriander seed and tasted like honey wafers.” (Exodus 16:31).
Here’s to sharing a sugar-free gospel: the Word already tastes like honey.
