I disagree that Paul's statement was about preachers only. Paul was speaking of the crown to be won at the end of the race. He was speaking of salvation.
As Matthew Henry put it:
He sets before himself and them the danger of yielding to fleshly inclinations, and pampering the body and its lusts and appetites: I keep my body under, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away (v. 27), rejected, disapproved, adokimos, one to whom the brabeuteµs—the judge or umpire of the race, will not decree the crown. The allusion to the games runs through the whole sentence. Note, A preacher of salvation may yet miss it. He may show others the way to heaven, and never get thither himself. To prevent this, Paul took so much pains in subduing and keeping under bodily inclinations, lest by any means he himself, who had preached to others, should yet miss the crown, be disapproved and rejected by his sovereign Judge. A holy fear of himself was necessary to preserve the fidelity of an apostle; and how much more necessary is it to our preservation? Note, Holy fear of ourselves, and not presumptuous confidence, is the best security against apostasy from God, and final rejection by him.
That being said, I will say this, that God has been convicting me of my lust for food. I am pudgy around the middle and in the last three years have gained 25 pounds. I am, like Murph, about 75 pounds overweight now.
The reason I am overweight is a lack of self-control. Others like to blame a host of physiological ailments, many of which are themselves a result of being overweight. The fact of the matter is, if I am a pound overwieght, it is because I ate a pound more of food than I needed.
Here are the Scriptures the Lord brought to my attention:
Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
The NIV translates "fulness of bread" as "overfed."
Ecclesiastes 10:16-17 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
And of course, the verse to which Preach referred us originally, 1 Cor. 9:27.
I stayed out of this thread for so long because I know it's a hot-button. But I can't let the illusions go on without a response. Do I think this is a personal concviction only? No. I think it is a universal non-optional principle.
I know this, I am weak and cannot do it on my own. My success with my weightloss (I can slide into my dress slacks a little easier now and buckle my belt a notch tighter) is directly related to how much a matter of prayer I make this. I don't worry about the kind of food either. That's another myth. It is the amount. It is God that is enabling me to make only one trip to the buffet, to resist Super-sizing my Extra-Value Meal, and to get up from the table when dinner is over.
What? Am I condemning others? Ludicrous. I am a morally weak and beggarly worm whose only boast is in the Cross. I see God's righteous standard and I beat my breast and cry out "Lord, have mercy upon me a sinner!" I don't even lift my eyes to heaven. Where do I come off condemning others? I can, however, point them to the Way.
