A believer should be controlled only by the Lord. At no point should a man be controlled by the cravings of his body, even that of his appetite. No doubt, Paul’s words above covered a much broader scope than simply a man’s appetite, but he too understood the need to control one’s cravings. The Bible records several instances where Paul was hungry and had nothing to eat (2 Corinthians 11:27). Solomon warned his son about the need for controlling one’s appetite when seated before rulers at a meal. He admonished, “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite” (Proverbs 23:1-2).
Most of us would assume that the Lord laughed at some point during His earthly ministry, yet the scripture never focuses on this point. Rather, the scripture seems to focus on the fact that He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). We know very little of any laughter, yet we do know that He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He further lamented over Jerusalem because of their rebellion (Luke 13:34). We also know that He sighed at the healing of the deaf man who had a speech impediment (Mark 7:34). Heaven affords the Lord great rejoicing, yet His earthly ministry was consumed by heartache rather than mirth. This most likely was a result of dealing with the consequences of man’s sin.
