Oh, how my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak, you might be thinking. In fact, the above scripture indicates it will take nothing less than a transformation to keep from conforming to worldly ways. That transformation occurs by the renewing of the mind. Everyone has only one mind, but the believer has two thought processes . One belongs to the old man and one to the new man.
Every action is preceded by thoughts from one tank or the other.
Our adversary the devil with his cohorts appeals to our old nature through the carnal mind, or thought process of the flesh. The new nature and its thought process hearken to the voice of the Spirit. Neither demons nor the Holy Ghost can force you to do anything, because in your own life you are sovereign and have been given the right to choose . If you are eating destructively, you are in violation of God s Word, and the thoughts dictating your eating behavior are coming from your carnal mind. What we need then for self-control is thought control .