Gluttony is an ignored problem in the evangelical church. I don’t remember ever hearing a sermon or lesson on gluttony as a child, even though it was evident all around us. I remember conversations about the dangers of sex and alcohol and even the Rock And Rollbut not a word about excess food.
I grew up in a traditional United States Bible Belt environment (bible belt), and while the church I visited as a child was more “contemporary” than most, there was no let up when it came to potlucks, dinner parties, ice cream socials, and the like. We were from the south. We were supposed to eat, dude. On top of that, I come from a border town in South Texas, so when we weren’t in the mood for fried chicken, cookies, and sweet tea, we still had plenty of Tex-Mex everywhere. The plate of snacks that they served in the García restaurant was a gift from God himself. My dad, invoking the spirit of his Hispanic heritage, would cook some excellent fajitas.
But I digress.
Can you tell I like food? I like it a lot. In fact, a few years ago, while studying for a sermon on the sin of gluttony, I realized not only had I never heard such a sermon before, but it was also a sermon I really needed to hear. Like you, I’ve struggled with the seven deadly sins from time to time throughout my life, but next to lust, gluttony is the sin I’ve struggled with the most (and still do).
If you’ve ever seriously considered fighting this sin, you’ve probably run into the same problem I did: there doesn’t seem to be much help out there. Certainly the spirit of the world will do us no favours. We live in the land of buffets all-you-can-eat, one-liter sodas and “enlarged” ones. When restaurant portions aren’t big enough to feed three people, we feel cheated. We’ve even turned eating into a competitive sport, so much so that one of the countless stations on ESPN airs battles for who can eat the most hot dogs.
Once upon a time, CS Lewis used the image of a striptease revealing a lamb chop or a piece of bacon to demonstrate the madness of sexual lust. The illustration was meant to be obviously silly. I think Lewis would be surprised today if he saw commercials on television or looked at our magazines. We are inundated with announcements that go a little further than a striptease of food! We hardly care that what we buy at the fast food joint bears any similarity to what shone so enticingly in the ad.
The world we live in does not encourage us to stop consuming, be it food or anything else. In the eyes of our culture, there is no such thing as “enough” when referring to food.
The world we live in does not encourage us to stop consuming, be it food or anything else.
But many of us don’t get much help from the Christian culture either. This is truly amazing when, if we expand gluttony to encompass more than food, we realize how gluttonous many of us are. In his book on the seven deadly sins, Billy Graham writes of gluttony: “It’s a sin most of us commit but few mention. It is one of the most frequent sins among Christians. We never seem to be satisfied. In some sections of evangelicalism, the drive to go bigger, higher, better, and faster when it comes to our ministries or programs, the emphasis on outperforming the previous year when it comes to income and attendance, and consumerist adoption of world standards of popularity or attractiveness are evidence of how insatiable we all are as diners or eaters. We are asked the question “How much is enough?” and we answer: “A little more. Okay, much more”.
1. Gluttony is saying “more” to anything when you should say “enough”
In essence, gluttony is dissatisfaction. Not all dissatisfaction is bad. However, given all the good things we have in this world, the reality that most of us don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from, it is a profound act of selfishness to cultivate dissatisfaction.
In this way, gluttony is not just about food. Just as we can covet things other than sex, we can overconsume things other than food. In fact, those who struggle with gluttony in the area of food probably require little self-reflection to realize that this is true. In my struggle, gluttony rears its head most obviously when it comes to my diet, but it’s also there when I have a sense of entitlement over other things. Why do I feel bad when I can’t sit next to an empty seat on a plane? It’s because I don’t want to be satisfied with what others have. Why do I want every vacation to be perfect and feel personally hurt when little things go wrong? Because I’m not satisfied with just being with my family doing something fun. It should also be hassle free. I will not be satisfied with the good. I always want the best. Why, after people thank me and encourage me after I finish preaching a sermon, do I wonder why someone else didn’t do the same? Because I’m a glutton.
Gluttony is at work when we indulge in workaholism, “retail therapy” or when we monopolize the blanket. We must take care of our understanding of gluttony so as not to limit ourselves only to the consumption of food.
Similarly, we must be careful not to automatically connect someone who is overweight with the sin of gluttony. They can eat very well, but they struggle with other physical or medical problems that make staying physically healthy problematic. Likewise, some of the most gluttonous people I know don’t seem to be overweight. That may be part of the problem: Their body isn’t (yet) revealing the rotten fruit of their lack of self-control, so they assume that lots of fast food isn’t a big deal.
In the Bible, gluttony refers almost exclusively to food. It is often combined with drunkenness, since eating and drinking go hand in hand. When Jesus is accused of sin for sharing food with sinners, he is accused of being a “glutton and a wine drinker” (Mt 11:17; Lk 7:34).
It is probably good at this point to mention what gluttony It is not. Gluttony is not:
- eat foods that are considered “bad” (such as fatty foods, sweets, or desserts) in moderation.
- to think that a meal is pleasant.
- in moderation, enjoy a chocolate, ice cream or other culinary delights.
- eat extra servings if you’re still hungry really.
Consider what Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Then whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).
Doing things “for the glory of God” means making sure that He is recognized as God and praised as God in what you do. This means that we cannot eat, drink, or do things as if we were the center of the universe, because that glorifies us, not God.
Avoiding gluttony, then, does not mean subsisting on bread and water or eating our meals with a frown. In fact, if we want to glorify God when we eat, we must enjoy the food, because it shows that we are delighting in something good that God has provided for us. When you give someone a gift, don’t you want them to enjoy it?
We could say that gluttony is consuming more than we should. It is refusing to say “enough”.
We cannot eat, drink or do things as if we were the center of the universe, because that glorifies us, not God.
Gluttony is basically turning food into a drug. When we indulge in gluttony, we expect food to give more pleasure than it can actually give. We hope it helps us avoid life’s problems, we treat it as a right or as a cure for anxiety.
Where did the phrase “comfort food” come from? When it comes to food that is delicious, evokes fond memories of our past, or satisfies our hunger in unique ways, comfort food is a good thing. But many people remember a time in their teens when mom or dad would prescribe food as a cure for hurt feelings or a bad day. Again, there is nothing wrong with enjoying good food or treating yourself once in a while. But a constant practice of this type of eating can create an unhealthy relationship with food. Today, many adults find it difficult to cope with difficulties or pain without overeating, in part because they were trained as children to think of food as a way to feel better. In this way, gluttony is idolatry. When we direct our behavior, thought and affections around food, we try to find in it what we can only find in God.
2. Gluttony is never really satisfying
Have you ever tried Turkish delight? CS Lewis symbolizes the forbidden fruit with this delicious delicacy in his classic book . Turkish delight is what the White Witch uses to lure Edmundo into betraying his brothers.
As he ate, the Queen kept asking him questions. At first, Edmundo tried to remember that it’s rude to talk with your mouth full, but he soon forgot about this and just thought about trying to swallow as much Turkish delight as he could, and the more he ate, the more he wanted to eat, and he never wondered why the Queen was so inquisitive.
Edmundo kept eating until the sweets ran out. The Witch used her desire to eat more sweets to continue tricking him. Edmund is a willing participant because he has given himself to the god of his womb (Phil 3:19). Yet in the end, like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, the promise turns out to be empty. Edmundo has eaten all the Turkish delight; the Witch promises him more if he goes through with his hellish plan. When he meets his younger sister again, he feels different.
“—Wow—said Lucy—you look very bad, Edmundo. You do not feel good?-
“I’m fine,” Edmundo said, but this wasn’t true. He felt very sick ”.
Gluttony is one of those sins that offers momentary pleasure and satisfaction, but quickly ends in disaster.
The food is good. It must be. God has designed it that way. As I write this very sentence, my wife is in the kitchen preparing her secret pork chop recipe. The sour smell of spices and meat sizzling on the stove tickles my nose. My mouth waters and my stomach growls. Praise God for good food and people who have the gift of cooking it well!
The Bible says a lot about food and even about enjoying food. In fact, order the enjoyment of…