“All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled” (Ecclesiastes 6: 7 KJV).
“Appetite” is defined as “a natural desire to satisfy bodily needs, especially for food or sexual activity; the determinate desire to satisfy the natural necessities, or fulfil the natural functions, of the body; one of those instinctive cravings which secure the preservation of the individual and the race.”
“Appetites” are something that God gave us when He made us, as the definition says, for the preservation of the individual and the human race. Humans crave or have an appetite for food and eat to stay alive. They have cravings for sex to keep the human race alive.
But an “appetite” is also a “bent of the mind, desire, inclination, disposition.” Some people have a craving for classical music while others loathe it; they can not stomach the sound it.
So then the body has appetites, and the spirit does too. The appetites of the body are defined as “viscerogenic” or “fleshly desires” and correspond with the “tissue needs” that generally come first with most individuals. The “psychogenic” or “spiritual desires” are needs or appetites of the inner spiritual man such as wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. In our search for truth, psychogenic needs are ignored by most.
Appetites are legitimate and essential for our existence and play a major role in our development. Though the viscerogenic needs of both the saved and the lost are the same, their psychogenic needs will differ. This is due to the different natures; the old sinful nature of the lost, which has an appetite for sin, and the new nature in the saved that has an appetite for holiness (Mt. 5: 6).
We control our appetites through discipline, self-control, or by being temperate, or we abandon ourselves to our appetites as they control us and we become gluttons. An appetite, if not controlled, can become a monstrosity that ends up destroying us. An uncontrolled appetite for food leads to obesity, and an uncontrolled appetite for sex leads to adultery. Appetites are legitimate, but it is the illegitimate use of them that leads to sin. Gluttony and adultery are sin (Prov. 23: 1-3; Ex. 20: 14; Deut.5: 18; Mt. 5: 28).
One thing that puts a cap on our appetites is the amount of income we have. If our income is low, our appetites are kept in check, and we live within our means. If our income grows, we allow our appetites to grow because we can afford to feed them more. The poor that live off their own income are generally skinny, and the rich are generally overweight.
When a person’s uncontrolled appetite has gotten the better of them, they get control of their appetite again by putting themselves on a diet to curb and restrict their appetite. When a person fasts, they fast from food, sex, and entertainment, or all their viscerogenic or fleshly needs in order to focus on the development of their psychogenic or spiritual needs.
What shape are your appetites in?
