Gluttony: The Acceptable Sin
Gluttony is an acceptable sin in our culture. You can see it in the waistlines of many of the preachers of our day and those in the congregation. I have honestly never heard a sermon preached from the pulpit against gluttony, have you? I asked the women in the chat room if any of them have heard one and no one said that they had.
“Gluttony, after all, is food worship. It’s table idolatry. It’s more about the direction of our loves than it is about the contents of our cupboards. How, then, do we discipline our appetites?…It was not just our pride and our anger and our greed that led Jesus to the cross. It was our gluttony as well. And so we should grieve for the times when we have worshiped and served the cafeteria rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).”( from a very good article written by Johnathan Bowers)
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite (Proverbs 23:2).”Stab thy gluttony, Restrain thyself by the strongest measures, convince thyself that thou art in the utmost peril, if thou art a glutton or wine bibber” (Pulpit Commentary).
“Use the strongest methods to keep thine appetite in check, if thou art likely to give way to it, and then, overcome by meat and drink, to say or do anything to offend thy host” (Ellicot’s Commentary).
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh (Proverbs 23:20).
“Be not amongst winebibbers,…. Who drink to excess, otherwise wine may be drank, provided moderation is used; but it is not good to be in company with, excessive drinkers of it, lost a habit of excessive drinking should be acquired; among riotous eaters of flesh; flesh may be lawfully eaten, but not in a riotous manner, so as to indulge to gluttony and surfeiting (the act of feeding to excess); nor should such persons be kept company with that do so, lest their ways should be learned and imitated” (Gill’s Exposition).
I shared my weekend with my college friends a few months ago. Something I noticed about all of them is that none of them are gluttons and this is why they all look good at or near 60 years old. They eat their portion, they eat slowly, and they stop as soon as they begin to feel satisfied. I was actually very impressed with all of them since we live in such a gluttonous culture. Only a few of them drink alcohol and those who did only had a very small glass.
“…who by their gluttony and luxury ruin their own bodies” (Pulpit Commentary). Most diseases Americans suffer from today are from gluttony and abusing their bodies. They eat what they want, when they want, and how much they want. The don’t discipline their bodies for the purpose of godliness. No, they allow their bodies and appetites to control them.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags (Proverbs 23:21)
“…immoderate sleep and idleness, which is a ready a way to poverty as gluttony or drunkenness is” (Matthew Poole’s Commentary).
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1 Corinthians 9:27
***Here is a fabulous article about learning to walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh.
12 thoughts on “Gluttony: The Acceptable Sin”
What does a wife do if her husband is a glutton?
We actually did have a sermon on gluttony a few years ago. There was so much push back and people threatening to leave that the minister had to apologize for his “insensitivity” ( he had shown an illustration of an obese person on the PowerPoint). I doubt that we will have anymore lessons on overeating any time soon.
Try to fix him as healthy of food as he will let her and then obey 1 Peter 3:1 while praying for him.
Yes….this is something I struggle with. I eat healthy…and then when I have a cheat meal, I over-indulge. I recognize it as sin and it is something I definitely wrestle with! There is never a need to over eat.
Spot on Lori.
So many things in marriage can be fixed on our knees with God. Our prayers can work faster and more lovenly that any other way that we can come up with including nagging and yelling at our precious Hubbies. I can’t stay in a room when someone is picking on their hubby for what he eat! They are our hubbies not our children.
I actually did hear a sermon years ago by an elder in the church who basically said what the post did here about how eating past being satiated was a sin that people don’t think anything about committing. We seem to be a culture of extremes, from tooth pick thin vanity, some are naturally thin I realize but this is starving to be beautiful, to over eating…It is all idolatry, and so easy in this country to fall into, Unless walking by the Spirit.
This is absolutely something I struggle with daily. I have never been obese but I’ve always had a sweet tooth. I eat more than I should most days and It is something I’ve felt convicted of over the past few months.
I have asked the Lord for forgiveness but I continue to struggle with making good food choices day in and day out. I give up way too easily when the cravings hit and end up indulging in something that isn’t going to provide the nutrition my body needs (cookie dough, brownies, etc.). I used to justify this by saying, “at least its homemade and not from a box.” It’s still wrong. I enjoy baking for my family and others but have very little self control when it comes to resisting something sweet. I want to overcome my sugar addiction but I end up giving in when it gets hard.
Gluttony is definitely evidenced by the ads for these extreme burgers that put practically every meat and topping available on one burger. It makes me nauseated just looking at such a monstrosity.
I definitely wouldn’t advocate yelling or nagging. But I didn’t know if offering to go for a run or join a weight watchers club with hubby or something of that nature would be beneficial or not.
I totally know how you feel.
I have just started a sugar free November. I won’t eat any sugar except when it’s in a very small amount and functional to a recipe (like 1 tsp sugar to help leavening of gf bread or 1/2 tsp honey to cut the sour taste of a salad dressing). That’s it.
For some people (me) moderation doesn’t really work (It’s partly genetic and partly upbringing). That’s why I have started my sugar free month: start the 1st of a month (excluding December because of Christmas celebrations) and stick to it. You can also do it at lent and end on Easter day. It’s important that you pick up a clear start and finish date because it’s easier to stick to it (and then you can extend it).
It’s a kind of taste buds reset and it’s very effective.
I did it last year and it was great to moderate my sweet tooth. After a while you notice that you don’t need to snack as much. You might even lose a little weight. Your teeth will benefit as well. Of course, once you start to cheat the cravings will come back but a sugar free month a couple of times a year is hugely beneficial.
I warmly recommend it.
Ive heard that sugar cravings are rooted in some sort of vitamin deficiency. I cant remember what vitamin though. I managed to cut down on sugar somewhat by having a drink of water everytime i craved sugar. In the end my body was so full from the water i couldnt possibly squeeze anything else in. And it lessened the strength of the craving. ?
Very good article! We are linking to this particularly great article on our site.
Keep up the good writing. – Jackie