When Appetite is God
3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
Some dispute the idea that this verse is talking about the Judaizers, largely because of the phrase, "whose god is their appetite." Judaizers did not distinguish themselves as those who were controlled by bodily appetites. But the fact is that there are two kinds of carnal, fleshly appetites. First, there are bodily appetites: food, sleep, sexuality, etc. Then there are non-bodily appetites: ambition, lust for fame, lust for approval, pride, materialism, etc. It seems to me wrong-headed to assume that Paul necessarily has bodily appetites primarily in mind here.
The view that Paul might be using this language to speak of a non-bodily appetite is supported by another description of Paul’s: "For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites." (Rom.16:18) Paul is talking here in Rom.16 not about promiscuous people or gluttons. He is talking about men who are in the church but who cause controversies by promoting teachings that are contrary to apostolic doctrine (see Rom.16:17). In both passages, there is no indication that the lifestyle of these men is the problem, but rather their teaching. Thus, I do not think that this poses any problem for interpreting Phil.3:18-19 as referring to the Judaizers.
Whatever the case, letting our appetites be god is something that all of us are prone to and need to watch out for. It certainly can happen with regard to bodily appetites. Even more "acceptable" bodily sins, such as oversleeping, gluttony and placing too much priority on "creature comforts" are forms of letting our appetites be our god. And on the non-bodily side there are all sorts of pitfalls that need to be avoided, including those listed above.
The point is this: when a man allows his human desires to determine what he does instead of submitting his will to God’s will, his appetite has become his god. He may say that he worships God, but the proof is in the pudding: Does he do what he wants or does he do what God says? All of us fail every day in this. But the man whose appetites are the dominating force in his life cannot claim to belong to Christ. True, living sacrifices (a la Rom.12:1) sometimes crawl down off the altar, but they also keep getting back up on it again.
O God my Father, thank You for Your great patience with me. So many things I do are done not out of a zeal to please You but because of my own human appetites. Please teach me, Lord, to continuously surrender my will to Yours, to be guided by Your word and not by my own desires. I want You to be my God, my only God. I do not want to serve any other. I do not want to serve my own appetites. Summon Your power, great God of heaven, and subdue this sinner, move me to full surrender.