Seven Deadly Sins, Part 4: Gluttony Most of us don't think of gluttony as a sin we struggle with. We think of it as a joke about buffets or a second slice of pie. This week on Truth Worth Living, Pastor Chris brought us to the last stop in our study of the seven deadly sins, and he started with an honest observation. Not all of these sins are deadly to us physically, but all of them are deadly to our spiritual vitality. Gluttony is the exception, because it can hurt the body too. The question he put in front of us is simple and a little uncomfortable: do we consume our food, or does our food consume us? What the Numbers Say Pastor Chris opened with some figures. He said the CDC categorizes 74% of Americans as overweight, that 40.3% of American adults are obese, and that 19% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese. He also said we spend roughly 135 billion dollars a year trying to lose weight, and somewhere between 175 and 260 billion dollars a year treating illnesses linked to obesity. Then he asked who's to blame. He mentioned a study in which 87% of respondents said individuals making poor choices were responsible. He wondered, with a smile, why it wasn't 100%. But his larger point was that Scripture doesn't call obesity the problem. Obesity is a symptom. The problem, he said, is gluttony, and you can be a glutton no matter what you weigh. Maybe we're hungering for something food can't satisfy. It's About Why, Not How Much We usually picture gluttony as eating too much. Pastor Chris said it's more than that. The issue isn't how much we eat but why we eat. He took us to Paul's letter to the Philippians, where Paul writes with tears about people who "live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things." Then Paul turns the corner: "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Pastor Chris explained that in this passage the stomach stands for our appetites and cravings. When we refuse to deny ourselves something we want, whether that's chocolate covered peanuts or a pumpkin spice latte, we've started to serve our stomach. He reminded us of what Jesus said about two masters: we can't serve both God and our appetites. That's why he called gluttony a form of idolatry. The believer who carries the cross keeps a kingdom mindset and trains for righteousness by saying no to self and yes to God. Three Kinds of Gluttony Pastor Chris shared three varieties of gluttony described by Doug Jackson. The first is the gluttony of excess, and it's easy to spot: we eat too much. The other two are subtler. The gluttony of delicacy is the demand for a certain kind of food, or a certain amount, or a certain time, with anger when the demand isn't met. Pastor Chris admitted with a laugh that it shows up at his house when the Tabasco sauce runs out or the orange juice is the wrong brand. It doesn't give thanks for what it gets. It demands what it wants. The gluttony of substitution, Pastor Chris said, uses food for something it was never meant to do. He quoted Frederick Buechner's line that a glutton is someone who raids the icebox for a cure for spiritual malnutrition. Jackson adds that this sin can wear a size 18 or a size 6 with equal comfort. Our waistline doesn't tell the story. Our motives do. The Antidote So what do we do if we're eating for the wrong reasons? Pastor Chris pointed us to Jesus in the wilderness. After forty days of fasting, Satan came to him with a food temptation: turn these stones into bread. Jesus answered, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Pastor Chris put it this way: the antidote to gluttony is letting our appetite prompt us to seek God first. Jesus knew the spiritual life matters more than physical satisfaction, and he was willing to say no to himself for the sake of obedience. Avoiding this sin means we eat whatever we eat with gratitude to the God who meets our every need. Something to Take Home This week, we'd encourage you to slow down before your next meal, or your next trip to the pantry, and ask the question from this message: why are we eating? Is it hunger, thankfulness, or something we're trying to fill that food was never meant to fill? Bring that honestly to God in prayer, and thank him for the table he's given you. Then talk about it. Share this episode with a friend, a spouse, or your small group, and ask each other where you're tempted to let your appetites lead. We're better at saying yes to God when we're not doing it alone.
Is it possible we're hungering for something food can't satisfy? Pastor Chris says gluttony isn't about how much we eat but why we eat, and he points to how Jesus answered temptation in the wilderness.
Pastor Chris starts with numbers. He cites the CDC saying 74% of Americans are overweight and 40.3% of adults are obese, then says obesity is a symptom, not the problem. Scripturally, the problem is gluttony, and you can be a glutton at any weight. The issue isn't how much we eat but why we eat. Do we consume our food, or does our food consume us?
Pastor Chris reads Paul's words to the Philippians about people whose god is their stomach. He says that when we refuse to deny ourselves what we crave, our appetites become our master, and that's idolatry. Quoting Doug Jackson, he describes three kinds of gluttony: excess, delicacy (demanding a certain food and getting angry when we don't get it), and substitution (raiding the icebox for a cure for spiritual malnutrition). The antidote comes from Jesus in the wilderness, when Satan tempted him to turn rocks into rolls. Jesus answered that we don't live on bread alone but on every word from God. Pastor Chris says to let our appetite trigger us to seek God first, and to eat with gratitude to the God who meets our every need.
Chapters
Series: 7 Deadly Sins
Speaker: Pastor Chris
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