Gluttony seems to be something that Christians like to ignore. We are often quick to label smoking and drinking as sins…but for some reason gluttony is accepted or tolerated. Many of the arguments used against smoking and drinking, such as health and addiction, apply equally to overeating. Many believers would not even consider having a glass of wine or smoking a cigarette, but have no qualms about gorging themselves at the dinner table to the point that they feel like they are going to explode. This should not be! Especially when obesity now affects nearly two thirds of our population, and is a much bigger problem for believers and non believers than alcohol itself.

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Proverbs 28:7 declares, “He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.” Proverbs 23:2 proclaims, “put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.”

Physical appetites are an analogy of our ability to control ourselves. If we are unable to control our eating habits, we are probably also unable to control other habits such as those of the mind (lust, covetousness, anger), and unable to keep our mouth from gossip or negativ natures . We are not to let our appetites control us, but rather we are to have control over our appetites. See Deuteronomy 21:20, Proverbs 23:2, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, and 2 Corinthians 10:5. God has blessed us by filling the earth with foods that are delicious, nutritious, and even pleasurable. We should honor God’s creation by enjoying these foods, and by eating them in appropriate quantities.

Perhaps this resolution needs the following amendments? ………

WHEREAS, Years of research confirm biblical warnings that obesity/gluttony leads to physical, mental, and emotional damage and death (e.g., Proverbs 23:; and

WHEREAS, Obesity and gluttony use has led to countless injuries and deaths on our nation’s highways, and at home, in the work place and at at church and on the mission field; and

WHEREAS, The breakup of families and homes can be directly and indirectly attributed to Obesity by one or more members of a family that died as a direct result of obesity ; and

WHEREAS, The use of junk food and non healthy nutrious products that causes obesity as a recreational substance has been shown to lead individuals down a path of diebetes, heart dieses, and other great health risks; and

WHEREAS, There are some religious leaders who are now advocating the consumption of junk food and non nutrional food based on a misinterpretation of
“well gluttony cant be as bad as smoking and drinking”

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, June 13-14, 2006, express our total opposition to the manufacturing, advertising, distributing, and consuming of junk food and harmful food products

RESOLVED, That we urge that no one be elected to serve as a trustee or member of any entity or committee of the Southern Baptist Convention that is obese (40 pounds or more overweight)

RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptists to take an active role in supporting legislation that is intended to curb diets that cause so much harm to our bretheren; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptists to be actively involved in educating students and adults concerning the destructive nature of obesity and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we commend organizations and ministries that treat obesity problems from a biblical perspective and promote abstinence of poor nutrition habits and encourage local churches to begin and/or address this biblically-based issue that is directly addressed in scriptures as a sin.

Thank you for this insightful post.

I grew up in a very difficult Christian household. Without going into great detail, the tension increased as the years passed. Mom (a Baptists minister’s daughter) started out with some pretty tough guidelines and then relaxed as she began to see what truly was a sin and what was not. My father, on the other hand, grew to revel in his legalism, creating rules (upon rules) so stringent that I sometimes wonder if the Pharisees would have had a tough time adhering to them all. To this day, my husband & I have to tiptoe through conversation with my father, trying to steer clear of anything that he would consider “sinful”.

My parents have purchased a home in SC (currently live in NJ) that they will be moving to when my father retires in a couple of years. I am completely bothered by the reality that they will be moving right into the heart of SBC “territory”, adding fuel to the blazing bonfire.

Rules, rules, rules. In that light, Christianity is more about what you can’t do than what you can. Instead of living victoriously in the freedom that God’s grace brings, we are weighed down by the Law. Didn’t Paul have a few things to say about that?

Legalism ultimately serves only one purpose: to give someone a checklist for comparison. “If they do/allow/say/think it and I don’t, then I am better than them.” (Therefore, a “better” Christian).

I can’t imagine that God is impressed with that line of thinking.