The Most Wonderful Sin of the Year
One passage that would be appropriate is I Corinthians 6:19,20. We have been “bought with a price,” so emphasize the great cost of our salvation. “Glorify God in your body and in your spirit.” We do a lot of challenging about glorifying God in our spirit, with a focus on our attitudes and our intimacy with Christ. Glorifying God in our bodies speaks to good stewardship of the piece of equipment He has given us for serving Him on this side of eternity. We have no problem preaching about substance abuse for believers, and we have good reason to do so. I beleive this passage supports us advocating a balanced, healthy lifestyle. We can become obsessed with physical fitness, but we have a tendency to ingore this aspect of our Christian life. Since God purchased my soul for eternity, and my body for this life, my responsibility is to treat His property with respect, and to maintain it to the best of my ability. I know that this body will eventually quit working and I will enter eternity. My responsiblity is to treat it with proper care, so that I am able to serve God as long as He intends me to be down here.
Dick Dayton
Where is gluttony in the Bible? The best the linked article could do is 1Cor.10:31
So… I’m not denying it exists and is sin, but on the scale of “bad stuff that needs preaching against,” it doesn’t rank high.
So… I’m not denying it exists and is sin, but on the scale of “bad stuff that needs preaching against,” it doesn’t rank high.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
If the arguments against certain habits is 1) they are unhealthy 2) they are addictive, then we should treat gluttony the same way we treat smoking cigarettes. You gotta say, it’s a bit disconcerting to watch a 350 lb preacher rant about ‘cancer sticks’.
There are other Bible passages that reference gluttony. The Pentateuch, Psalms, Proverbs and the Gospels consistently pair gluttony with drunkenness. The Apostle Paul (Phil 3. 18) associates it with idolatry.
The annual guilt trip for the overweight
Just in time for my wife’s holiday baking.
The problem is: Is obesity = gluttony? Don’t think so!
Now dropping to have some Christmas cookies!
Just in time for my wife’s holiday baking.
The problem is: Is obesity = gluttony? Don’t think so!
Now dropping to have some Christmas cookies!
Not all ‘gluttons’ are overweight- my dh has the metabolism of a hummingbird, and he has to remind himself (and I help him with that, you know, as his ‘help meet’) that just because he is skinny, he doesn’t get to indulge.
Also, a ‘large’ person can be fit and healthy overall, due to musculature and bone structure. However, obesity is by definition carrying too much body fat, and is linked to overeating, excess alcohol, and a lack of exercise. There are a few health issues that contribute to obesity, but they are treatable. In any case, obesity should be the exception, not 75% of the church and most evangelists and special speakers. If a preacher waddles up to the pulpit and is red-faced and out of breath by the time he manages to turn on his microphone, most of the congregation has tuned the guy out already.
Also, a ‘large’ person can be fit and healthy overall, due to musculature and bone structure. However, obesity is by definition carrying too much body fat, and is linked to overeating, excess alcohol, and a lack of exercise. There are a few health issues that contribute to obesity, but they are treatable. In any case, obesity should be the exception, not 75% of the church and most evangelists and special speakers. If a preacher waddles up to the pulpit and is red-faced and out of breath by the time he manages to turn on his microphone, most of the congregation has tuned the guy out already.
Looking at Philippians 3:18 it doesn’t mention food at all, so I presume you mean 3:19. Actually Paul isn’t talking about overeating in that pasage either. He is referring to them being more concerned with koshser food diets and spent more time focusing on that then on focusing on God.
[wkessel1] Looking at Philippians 3:18 it doesn’t mention food at all, so I presume you mean 3:19. Actually Paul isn’t talking about overeating in that pasage either. He is referring to them being more concerned with koshser food diets and spent more time focusing on that then on focusing on God.Sorry, I WAS referring to Philippians 3:19. I can’t say I’ve examined the passage thoroughly, but the BKC states regarding the phrase “their god is their belly”:
MacArthur states that “it is used metaphorically to refer to all unrestrained sensual, fleshly, bodily desires.” You were quoting from the NAC. As the author of that commentary states, it probably comes done to the identity of the false teachers.
I’d be interested in how feasting in the Bible is normally considered good (and even commanded) and how that’s different from gluttony.
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.Jesus seemed to feast enough to the point where he was accused of gluttony and drunkenness. I wonder if those accusing him had a faulty definition of what gluttony is.
(Isaiah 25:6 ESV)
The Lord brings to my minid a passage where we are to share our food with others as a feast and sacrifice to Him. Remember I John 2, that we must be cautious about “the lust of the flesh,” when fleshly desires take control of us instead of us, by the Spirit, controlling them. In the garden, Eve saw that the tree was “good for food,” and let her desires control her. When we sit to eat and enjoy the great bounty the Lord has given us, especially in this country, let us remember that we may enjoy the delicious taste of the food, and may rejoice in God Who supplies it for us. We are to keep our appetities under control. I Corinthians 6 says that “All things are lawful, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Within the broad parameters of what God has made appropriately available to me, I must be sure that I am controlling my appetites, and that they are not controlling me. Having had open heart surgery 3 years ago, I rejoice in and enjoy the great bounty God has supplied, but am much more cautious about what is on my plate than I used to be.
Dick Dayton
Ditto Bro. Dayton- I don’t think Biblical feasting was ever intended as an excuse to eat so much that one has to loosen one’s girdle, or in our times release the top button of their pants. Excess is never encouraged, but moderation is. You can feast in moderation.
Susan,
It seems like the whole concept of feasting contains the idea of eating more than you need. I don’t know how a feast could be moderate when compared to normal eating. But we should feast moderately when compared to other feasts. Does that make sense?
It seems like the whole concept of feasting contains the idea of eating more than you need. I don’t know how a feast could be moderate when compared to normal eating. But we should feast moderately when compared to other feasts. Does that make sense?
Yes and no- I think we should consider what constituted a normal meal in Bible times. Did they eat bread/salad/entree/sides/dessert on a regular basis? Was feasting indulging in an enormous amount of food, or enjoying an unusual variety of food at one sitting for a specific purpose?
If we remember that feasting had two connotations- blessing and judgment- then our modern definition of feasting (All You Can Eat at the Golden Corral) doesn’t seem to fit. Does that make sense?
If we remember that feasting had two connotations- blessing and judgment- then our modern definition of feasting (All You Can Eat at the Golden Corral) doesn’t seem to fit. Does that make sense?
There is no reason to being opposed to the consumption of alcohol even in moderation (when the NT specifically tells us to drink wine for health reasons, and the healthy benefits of small amounts of low alcohol wine has long been documented by the medical community) and similarly being opposed to smoking in moderation (i.e. cigars and pipes as opposed to cigarettes, which ironically reduces the desire/impulse to snack and other unnecessary indulgent eating) which the Bible does not mention or forbid at all while soft-pedaling gluttony.
Don’t get me wrong … I am neither a drinker or smoker. But this is yet another example of how our view of the gospel can be influenced by culture. Another example: how Christians have long accepted depictions of fornication and adultery in movies and TV, but promoting homosexuality in those mediums somehow “cross the line.” Smoking and drinking are less acceptable to the mainstream culture than overeating, and as a matter of fact is illegal for those under 18 and 21. So that makes it “more sinful” in the eyes of Christians despite what the Bible actually says.
Look, Christians began to become more accepting of divorce when the mainstream culture did as well. And none other than James Dobson acknowledged that he wasn’t going to make an issue of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy because “let’s face it: teen pregnancy/illegitimacy are part of the cultural landscape now so the church has to adapt.” So the real issue is not gluttony per se, but the reality that more pastors would preach against it - and perhaps a number of other sins - if the mainstream secular culture regarded it as “bad” or “immoral.” It makes you wonder how the church is going to treat homosexuality 25 years from now.
Don’t get me wrong … I am neither a drinker or smoker. But this is yet another example of how our view of the gospel can be influenced by culture. Another example: how Christians have long accepted depictions of fornication and adultery in movies and TV, but promoting homosexuality in those mediums somehow “cross the line.” Smoking and drinking are less acceptable to the mainstream culture than overeating, and as a matter of fact is illegal for those under 18 and 21. So that makes it “more sinful” in the eyes of Christians despite what the Bible actually says.
Look, Christians began to become more accepting of divorce when the mainstream culture did as well. And none other than James Dobson acknowledged that he wasn’t going to make an issue of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy because “let’s face it: teen pregnancy/illegitimacy are part of the cultural landscape now so the church has to adapt.” So the real issue is not gluttony per se, but the reality that more pastors would preach against it - and perhaps a number of other sins - if the mainstream secular culture regarded it as “bad” or “immoral.” It makes you wonder how the church is going to treat homosexuality 25 years from now.
Solo Christo, Soli Deo Gloria, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura http://healtheland.wordpress.com
I am neither a drinker… .Then, according to your statement that “the NT specifically tells us to drink wine for health reasons” if someone is not a drinker he/she is in violation of a specific command of Scripture.
###
Smoking and drinking are less acceptable to the mainstream culture than overeating, and as a matter of fact is illegal for those under 18 and 21. So that makes it “more sinful” in the eyes of Christians despite what the Bible actually says.
Some sort of qualifier for that statement would be appreciated, because it simply cannot be said that Christians in general view those things as more sinful. Some probably do, some probably don’t. Would rather it not sound like you were speaking for all Christians there.
###
As far as the gluttony issue, when I hear that word in the 1st century Roman world context I think of the men who were members of different guilds. Even though these guilds were based on occupation or perhaps interests such as music, they were known for having “meetings” that lent themselves to indulgences of sexual activity, drinking, and eating. With the eating, they would eat until they vomited or would do something to induce emesis so that more food could be consumed. Gluttony seems to imply simply consuming more than your body needs. That sounds like something probably a lot of us did a month ago and might do again this upcoming weekend.
Discussion