Gluttony and the fight for self control

Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.  Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,  for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. - Proverbs 23:19-21 ESV

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  Oh, fear the Lord , you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!  The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.- Psalm 34:8-10 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

Gluttony is not about what you eat. It is about why and how you eat. It is the spirit in which we eat. Do you eat to satisfy some thing other than hunger?

Feasting was a communal event to praise God. For the Israelites, they were week long events. The rest of the time, they were to live restrained, disciplined lives.

What is so dangerous about gluttony?

Don't look at body weight. Bad health is a shallow perspective and largely a cultural pressure. A skinny person can struggle with gluttony just as much as an overweight person. Gluttony is seeking rest and our deepest satisfaction in food. We turn to the pleasures of food and forget to turn to God.

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. - Philippians 3:17-19 ESV

We stress eat. But when we do this, we avoid addressing the sin in our lives. We eat and forget why we were angry or upset. The sin is left unaddressed.

We can eat without thankfulness. We eat only the best. So this is gluttony by quality rather than quantity. But the heart is still dominated by food. We want our food and we want it exactly the way we want it.

Gluttony can fracture community. If you are eating with others without being considerate of others, we can eat taking from those we eat with. If you are eating family style and take more, someone is eating less.

It throws up barriers to others. From being too picky or unloving or self centered, food takes the place of loving God and loving others.

Jesus

He is the bread of life. He will satisfy us deeply and fully. He is here to fill our spiritual needs. Choose him over food. In times of stress, anger, or spiritual emptiness, turn to God. We cannot be gluttonous in regards to the word of God. We cannot overdo the bread of life.