The FORGOTTEN sin of gluttony (hell, Christ, Bible, Matthew)

[arabianhorselover]

It is true that a large percentage of most church's congregations are overweight. Don't know what percentage of those are gluttons.....

[Phazelwood]

Originally Posted by arabianhorselover

It is true that a large percentage of most church's congregations are overweight. Don't know what percentage of those are gluttons.....

Just have a potluck.

[SC122]

I think most ppl just see sharing of food as being generous,which it is,considering the time,cost and prep it takes.It makes them feel good to prepare and share it with others.
Like Jesus feeding the crowd,and the 'horn of plenty',I think most ppl see it as meaning you are blessed,and the more food you have=the more blessed you are.
I think the only thing you can do is serve to be a good example and bring healthy foods to such events.

[sun queen]

I went to a church recently and I would say 90% of the congregation is hundred pounds or more over weight. 5% between 50-75 pounds over weight and that includes the pastors, co-pastors deacon's ushers and the choir. To be honest I wondered how is this thing being allowed to burden God's people without the leadership addressing it as sharply as sexual sins. After church u could purchase a sloppy joe combo and then reconvene for prayer after eating. I don't know. I don't mean to be judgmental at all, but something is seriously wrong with not addressing the sin of gluttony. It is a disservice to God's people.

[Vic235]

Most preachers in Ethiopia preach the evilness of gluttony.

[Katzpur]

While I see where you are all coming from and I do agree with a lot of what you've said, I've often thought it's kind of unfortunate that all sins aren't quite so easily recognizable as gluttony. I mean just imagine the heyday we could have if we could spot people's sins of a more private nature.

[stillkit]

Alright, let me see if I can clear this up before y'all go to condemning all your fellow believers and neighbors for a sin they're not commiting.

The word glutton only appears twice in Scripture and both times in the Old Testament. A derivative of that, gluttonous, appears twice in the New Testament and those are the only uses of the word in all the Bible.

In the OT, the Hebrew word translated into English as "glutton," does not have anything to do with overeating. The word means, literally, "To shake, as in the wind," ie: to quake. Figuratively, it means to be loose morally, worthless, a riotous eater, vile. In other words, a "glutton" in Hebrew isn't a fat guy, it's a person who is unstable in all his ways, a person lacking in self control, a "party dude," as it were.

In the NT, both uses of the word "gluttonous" are accusations made against Jesus by the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees. While the Greek meaning is simply "A glutton," it comes from a word which means, to eat..especially to eat meat. Nothing in it's definition implies anything about how much a glutton must eat before he's a glutton.

To understand it's usage in the NT, you must remember that the Pharisee's were condemning Jesus based upon the Scripture they knew and understood, which was what we now call the Old Testament. In other words, when they accused Jesus of "gluttonous" behavior, they were referring back to the Hebrew meaning of the word, not to how much he ate. They were accusing Him of being a morally loose, worthless, vile "party animal," and not a serious follower of God.

I hope this helps.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by arabianhorselover

It is obvious from the Bible that overeating is a sin. It is a sin agianst the 1st commandment, in that something of the world (food) is taking God's place in the persons' life.

It is a sin against the 5th commandment, because you are slowly killing yourself. The body is God's temple, and we are to take care of it.

I say these things as someone who has been overating since I was a teenager. I am 49 now, and have never managed to overcome this awful habit. I have known it was wrong all along, and wish churches would preach about it. It is something that people need to hear and think about.

I only hope that I can overcome this before it is too late.

The 5th Commandment? What does gluttony have to do with honoring your father and mother?

And, by the way, when Paul talked about your body being the Temple of God, that was part of a dissertation on sexual sins defiling the Temple spiritually and had nothing to do with what you ingest.

[Itz]

Just a shout out

Gluttony is not JUST about food... Gluttony can be about material things as well... Do you need 30 pairs of shoes? Do you honestly need a larger vehicle? Do you honestly need to own 2 closets full of clothing? Etc....

"Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said of Gluttony: "Gluttony denotes, not any desire of eating and drinking, but an inordinate desire... leaving the order of reason, wherein the good of moral virtue consists." (2, 148, ad 1) "

Gluttony is RAMPANT amongst our society..

My thought on WHY this is such a sin is because back in Christ day there wasn't a McDonalds or Nordstrom on every corner - thus times got lean and those that hoarded and were gluttonous in their ways took away from their neighbors which hurt the community over all.. Life was VERY depending on community back in those days.

ALSO.... the Church was a MAJOR factor in how people led their lives in midevil times - often times requireing one to "buy" their way into heaven of "buying" out of a sin... If a person was gluttonous, that meant there was less for the church as well.

[SC122]

good points,all the previous posts.
I tend to think of gluttony as being selfish...hoarding things or food you don't need when others are in need,and not offering to share anything with them.I think that is the real sin of gluttony.