Food sustains the body, gives it what it needs to function properly, and if prepared correctly, it can be a delicious experience. However, it can become such a part of a person’s life that it controls her life, and eating becomes a top priority. When food becomes so important, it is called gluttony or “habitual greed or overeating.” In the Bible, gluttony is condemned as a sin that consumes the body and soul.
In Scripture, overeating is shown in conjunction with wicked behavior and men living in sin. As with all things on earth, food can become an idol and hindrance to the believer, or a blindfold for someone who doesn’t know Jesus, preventing that person from knowing the Lord.
There are many things in this world that are for the benefit of humanity that can become a distraction, an obstacle, or an idol that replaces God in someone’s heart. From romance, to money, to basic necessities, anything can become an obsession that one consumes too much of.
What is gluttony?
Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, a collection of seven sins that people identify as some of the biggest obstacles in people’s lives. The seven sins are called deadly, in part, because of their consuming and destructive potential.
Gluttony is the sin associated with an unhealthy indulgence in material pleasures, usually food. However, it is not just overeating, but can include drinking, screen time, lustful thoughts and behavior, and similar types of obsessive love of material pleasure. It is creating an idol out of something material, often consumable.
Committing idolatry violates the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). While gluttons do not generally create carved images of their idol, they do engage in behavior that God forbids. These are associated with the call not to make a carved image; they can “bow… or serve” their obsession by doing whatever it takes to consume it.
Understanding what gluttony is not can be just as crucial as knowing what it is. It is not necessarily related to weight. The fact that someone has problems with his weight does not mean that person is a glutton. There could be medical reasons for someone to be overweight. Having unhealthy habits is not gluttony either. Some people have developed unhealthy eating and drinking habits throughout their lives, but they don’t eat that way because they idolize food. It is also not an obsession for compulsion or an anxiety disorder, where the person overdoes something because he feels he has to in order to relieve excess anxiety. Gluttony can turn into that, but it starts with an inappropriate love for what the person consumes.
The popular image of gluttony is often that of a person who visibly and openly eats and drinks and displays the characteristics of that indulgence, such as being overweight, drunk, and lewd. While there may be some who struggle with gluttony who fit this stereotype, many don’t. In daily life, gluttony begins in the heart, where someone begins to love a material indulgence more than they should.
If a believer gets their prayers answered, and the first instinct is to celebrate with food, and not thank the Lord, that may be the roots of gluttony. As that indulgence is encouraged, life choices begin to revolve around it. Planning the day around that indulgence is another pointer. It can become so severe that people choose their vice over other people, attack others, and prioritize it over everything else. Believers and non-believers alike can put aside people, work, and other priorities for the sake of food, more screen time, or whatever they’ve made an idol of.
Gluttony can manifest itself in other areas, as it is primarily associated with the sin of losing control and letting the flesh dictate the contrary to the Word of God. Paul wrote, “But I beat my body and control it, lest after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). When the body is in control, it only wants to consume and does not let the logical mind or the Holy Spirit make the decisions that guide it.
If something material or carnal is in control, then there is gluttony. Another way to look at it is through the verb form of the word, saturate. To stuff yourself with something is to overfill yourself. The person no longer needs what he is consuming, but continues to do so.
Is gluttony a capital sin?
Most people know that gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. While there is no cohesive list of “seven deadly sins” in the Bible, Pope Gregory I created the list as a marker of the sins that give rise to all other vices. The Bible describes gluttony as a path to self-destruction.
Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi saying of the enemies of the cross: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). Here the distinction between bad habits and the sin of gluttony is clear: in the life of a glutton, his desire is his god. For some, it can even become a substitute for relationships, self-esteem, and the worship of the Lord.
Considering the way the term “deadly sin” is used in common parlance, gluttony is deadly both spiritually and physically. Overeating can lead to health problems and diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure that can lead to death. Studies show that too much screen time can cause eyestrain, back pain, and addictive behavior. Gluttony can lead to spiritual death, as consumption puts higher and higher barriers to a right relationship with God.
This person has not only put an idol in his heart, but he is rejecting one of the fruits of the Spirit – self-control. Gluttony can lead to an irresponsible lifestyle, as the individual spends too much money in excess and a constant cycle of debt is commonly associated with sin. The Book of Proverbs warns: “Do not be among drunkards or meat eaters, for the drunkard and the eater will become poor, and sleep will clothe them in rags” (Proverbs 3:20-21). The inability to stop overeating, or any other gluttonous behavior, is a rejection of temperance and often consideration for other people.
Due to the negative health effects that gluttony can have, it is also abuse. the body. The Bible says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, because you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). By treating the body as a mere vessel for material indulgence and enjoyment, the glutton ignores the spiritual parts of life.
Some Bible verses on indulgence include:
Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, for this is licentiousness, but be filled with the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or if he is an idolater, a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler, not even to eat with such a person.”
Proverbs 25:27 “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to seek one’s own glory.”
Romans 13:13 “Let us walk decently as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in fornication and sensuality, not in lawsuits and jealousy.”
1 Peter 4:3-5 “For the past time is enough to do what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drunkenness and lawless idolatry. On this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same stream of debauchery, and they slander you; but they will give an account to him who is prepared to judge the living and the dead.”
Is it wrong to enjoy things or indulge?
Looking at the seven deadly sins, it can be easy to decide which is the best. All you have to do is live on bread and porridge, denying yourself any semblance of earthly pleasure. The Word of God does not encourage this mentality, but instead encourages temperance. Instead of denying your body a good meal or entertainment, enjoy it to your heart’s content and then put it away. Eat until the body is satisfied; watch a fixed amount of media and then turn it off.
Meditating on the life of a man, King Solomon reflected: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and proper is to eat and drink and enjoy all the work with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life. life that God has given him, for this is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 5:18).
God gave man good thighs including tasty food, sex and laughter. Living with moderation, gratitude for God’s gifts and biblical limits is living properly. It’s okay to indulge and indulge once in a while, as long as it’s not detrimental to oneself, others, or one’s testimony.
Gluttony is the sin of excessive consumption, indulgence and inevitable self-destruction. God wants to be first in everyone’s life, and the flesh must never take his place. Humanity was made for more than just serving physical appetites. Believers are called to, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth” (Colossians 3:2), and that, “You, however, do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9a).
Strive to put God first, and to keep the desires of the flesh in their proper place.
Sources
DeYoung, Rebecca Konydyk. Brilliant Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies. Grand Rapids: Arms Press, 2020.
Graham, Billy. The 7 deadly sins. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955.
Prose, Francine. Gluttony. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.