The sinful nature

We are so imperfect. Most of the things we do are imperfect. Jesus came for us because we are imperfect and sin comes easily. Don't despair. ~ Mother Angelica

I am definitely imperfect and it bugs me because I am a perfectionist. I'm trying to do this weight maintenance thing and yesterday I binged - Two 12 oz cups of Vanilla Wafers, and oatmeal raisin cookie, two 8 oz cups of cheez-its, a BIG spoonful of peanbutter (instead of a measured spoonful like I have every day), then a normal supper and pudding even though I was stuffed. Yuck!

I'm like Paul who said:

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ~ Romans 7:15,18-19

However, he goes on to say:

But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. ~ Romans 7:20-25

And then in Chapter 8, he says:

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ~ Romans 8:5-14

I need to remember the part that I bolded. I do not have to do what my sinful nature wants me to do. I do not have to stuff myself with processed food (a binge is ALWAYS with processed food, never with whole foods). Through the power of the Holy Spirit I can put to death the bingeing.