Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Sin Of Gluttony

Proverbs 23:21 "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:..."

Gluttony is defined as excess in eating or drinking; greedy or excessive indulgence.

Do you ever find yourself committing the sin of gluttony? I know I have. This is an area of my life that I'm striving (with the Lord's help) to get under control.

God looks at gluttony as sin. In fact he likens it to the sin of drunkenness. The reason is because it is a sin of lack of self-control. The drunk drinks alcohol in excess and the glutton eats food in excess. God desires for us to exercise self-control in our lives...or should I say God-control.

None of us can abstain from sin on our own. It takes us yielding to the Holy Spirit and letting Him have control. Thanksgiving day is probably the most popular time or day that gluttony is a problem. There is so much good food and we think we have to get as much as we can. There could be several reasons for this. It could be that we only get some of these foods one time a year and we want to get all we can since we won't get the opportunity to eat them again until the next year. Maybe it is because we spent all that time and effort preparing and cooking that food that we don't want it to go to waste. Or maybe it is because it just tastes so good we just lose control. None of these reasons to commit this sin are justifiable reasons. God hates sin no matter what the reason we give for committing it.

How do we avoid being a glutton? Simply pray and ask the Lord to help you stop eating once you are satisfied and don't eat past that point. Our nation is the most overweight of all nations in the world. We need to exercise God-control in our eating habits. Our body lets us know when it is satisfied. The thing is we don't pay attention to our body when we get to that point. We get distracted by television...conversation with others or some other thing that keeps us from paying attention to our body letting us know it is satisfied.

So many of us eat so much that our body can't function properly. Why do you think people feel the need for a nap after they have eaten? Because they ate too much and their body can't handle it.

We all need to start paying attention to our body and letting God have control in this area. He wants to help us...but we have to let Him.

16 comments:

Katy-Anne Binstead said...

Haha right now I'm always hungry and it's hard to be satisfied, and I took a nap after thanksgiving dinner because I was tired because I'm pregnant (I wanted a nap before dinner too haha) but I do know that a lot of people eat a lot of food for no other reason than they like it or whatever. I thought I ate a lot (and I did, for me) but everyone else thought it wasn't much because they ate more haha. I know some people that eat too much and are big and they excuse it by saying that being anorexic is much worse so at least they are "better" than some people. But I also know a lot of people that moan that they are fat and go on fad diets when they are not fat and don't need a diet. I think exercise is a better option along with truly healthy eating like no processed foods, and whole grains etc than any "diet". But yeah it can be a big problem and there are a lot of truly fat people out there.

~~Deby said...

.....OUCH....
IF you only knew..this is a strong sin area that I hate in my life...YOU know when a Christian is not being controlled by the Holy SPirit....by their size at times..and I can say it because, frankly I am FAT...and it is so hard......so hard...and a real struggle....for way to many years....we would counsel a man who drinks and get so pious...but turn our heads or even sometimes applaud someone at a good old fashioned pot luck (even at church)....for plates heaping with food.
Julie,ny friend..I am telling you...and other bloggers...as this too is my SIN...and I ashamedly request prayer for this...
Thanks for your boldness to write this especially the day after Thanksgiving..
Deby
With this sin but still saved by God's grace....the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Sis. Julie said...

katy-anne....congratulations on your pregnancy. I had no idea you were expecting again.

Sis. Julie said...

sis. deby....I know what you mean about this post being convicting. I was being convicted about this all while I was doing it. This has definitely been a real struggle in my life as well. God is really working on me in this area and I'm thankful He never gives up on His children!!

Theresa's Notes said...

This is such a good post to have up this time of year. With Thanksgiving dinner over and the Christmas dinner coming up, it really make me to want to be careful and watch how much I'm eating.

Thanks for this post.

Sis. Julie said...

sis. theresa...I was telling the Lord the whole time I was doing this post that this was a good one for this time of year. But the Lord used it with me.

Katy-Anne Binstead said...

Thanks Mrs Julie.

Anyone got tater tots? I have to have tater tots and there ain't any in the house and husband has the car. Sigh. Got to have tater tots.

Sis. Julie said...

katy-anne...sorry...Can't say that I do. They aren't a popular item in our house. Don't you just hate those cravings?

PamelaK said...

This is a very good post and a very timely one, Sis Julie. I grew up in a culture where everything revolved around food.
I am doing better now but this time of the year is especially hard for me. It once would be that Thanksgiving would signal approx 6 weeks of endless eating thru New Year's Day. I love to cook and have been working hard at still being able to enjoy cooking but in a very healthy and more natural way for myself and my family, especially since I have a couple health issues I am dealing with at the moment. But now it will get tough for a while like it has the last few years. Your point about God not caring for the reason for gluttony will really stick in my mind! And as you said, I have to let Him help me! Thanks for writing this!

Sis. Julie said...

pamelak...Amen!! And you're welcome.

Jimena said...

Thank you Sis. Julie. I really appreciate your honesty and boldness in sharing about things like this... I was just telling my husband that I don't hear people talk about this that much and we forget it is a sin indeed. I don't struggle with this particular sin regarding eating, but I know that I desire to have a lot of things that I don't need, and this is why I don't even like to participate at give-aways in blogs. Every time I see one, no matter what they give away I feel like I need to have it. I love to get things, I love to have things, but I too want to let go and realize that all I need is Christ and the only One to delight in. It's good to hear that spoiling ourselves is "spoiling" us.

Deby, thanks you for asking for prayer! I will pray for you ok? the Lord can help us go through all this :)

Sis. Julie said...

sis. jimena...Amen!! You are so very right!!

Kristi said...

I'm glad being fat is not a sin. However, we do get fat from being a glutton. lol

And oh yeah...Couldn't you have saved this post for AFTER the holidays? LOL just kidding.

Love ya,
~Kristi

Sis. Julie said...

sis. kristi...Believe me...I wanted to wait to post this one...but the Lord just wouldn't let me. Guess we all needed this one huh?

Cherish the Home said...

This is a really good post! I, too, struggle BIG TIME with the sin of gluttony.

I really liked this part:

None of us can abstain from sin on our own. It takes us yielding to the Holy Spirit and letting Him have control.

This is VERY true and extremely important to remember.

Because of Christ,
~Mrs.B

TO BECOME said...

I guess I would have to say that this has been my sin of choice many times. I am so sorry. I am finally having victory in this area because I have wanted to have this victory. Sin is sin whether it is our or someone elses. Have a great week. connie fromTexas

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