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The Skipper –
Gluttony
Philippians 3:19
Our first parents, Adam and Eve, started this whole mess by violating
the only law God gave them -- a law focused on a particular food.
The ancient Israelites celebrated their exodus from Egypt with a feast.
They remembered that deliverance every year in a feast called Passover.
They remembered Esther in a feast called Purim.
In fact, their holy year is built around a series of meals.
One of Jesus' temptations was focused on turning non-fat stones into hi-carb
bread.
And of course, every Sunday, Christians remember his victory over sin
and death in a ritual called the Lord's Supper.
Food is and always has been a unique feature of faith in God. It is
featured in so many of the stories that we learned as children. Abraham
and his three guests. Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew,
Joseph and the famine, the prodigal son and the father's welcome home
banquet. Jesus feeding the four thousand, Jesus feeding the five
thousand, Dinner at the home of Mary and Martha, the rich man and
Lazarus, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, a breakfast of fish on
the beach with the risen Lord, Peter and his vision of the sheet.
You might not have noticed how prevalent food was in the Bible, which
means you have also overlooked the fact that the word gluttony is barley
mentioned in the Bible. In fact, the New Testament writers urge us to
enjoy food as much, if not more, than they warn us against it. This is a
curious feature of Christianity. Judaism, Islam and Hinduism all have
regulations with varying degrees of severity when it comes to food.
The word gluttony in any form is only mentioned 7 times in the
Scripture. And of that 7 times 4 times it is used as a cutting remark
against someone else, and twice of that it is the same story about
Christ in two different Gospels.
That leaves three comments all of which are found in the Book of
Proverbs.
Proverbs 23:20-21 Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of
meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber
will clothe them with rags.
Proverbs 28:7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but
a companion of gluttons shames his father.
Not very condemning is it. And of all the major religions, only
Christianity treats it with almost casual disregard. We are neither to
make a god of our bellies nor to be overly concerned with what we eat.
As long as we are thankful and moderate, God is pleased. Whether we are
grateful or not is a matter of opinion. Moderation, however, can be
quantified and by all accounts Christians and American Christians in
particular, are not moderate at all.
Recently the front page of the living section in the newspaper ran an
article entitled; All You Can Eat, Buffet Restaurants satisfy our
appetite for endless bounty.
I like that definition for gluttony; an appetite for endless bounty. I
like it because it's rather open ended. We usually think of gluttony as
a sin related specifically and exclusively to food. That is it's
particular focus, but gluttony has more to do with an attitude toward
things that satisfy our physical desires than with the things
themselves. In other words, you can be a glutton and sport a 30" waist
or wear a size 2. You're just gluttonous about other things; television,
entertainment, sex, you name it.
Gluttony, the word, comes from Latin; to devour. It means excessive
consumption. One of the great social commentators of our day is a man
named Don Henley. You might have heard of him, he was in a little group
called the Eagles, and did some solo work. On his album “End of the
Innocence” he has a song called, “Gimme What You Got”. The first lines
of the song are a biting commentary on our times.
Baby picks off your plate -- yours looks better And she throws hers on
the floor. Here, in the home of the brave, And the land of the free The
first word baby learns is "more."
But Henley doesn’t just stop there, he is astute enough to point out
that our national obsession with more is about much more than food.
From Main Street to Wall Street to Washington From men to women to men
It's a nation of noses pressed up against the glass They've seen it on
the TV And they want it pretty fast You spend your whole life Just pilin'
it up there You got stacks and stacks and stacks Then, Gabriel comes and
taps you on the shoulder But you don't see no hearses with luggage
racks.
So tonight as we discuss the sin of the Skipper, we will need to start
by dispelling some myths about Gluttony.
First, obesity and gluttony are not synonyms.
When I graduated High School I was 6 foot 3 and weighed 150 pounds
soaking wet. After three years of Late Night Krispy Kream Runs, I
graduated College at 6 foot 4 and 240 pounds.
Regardless of how hard well meaning members of my family have tried they
have not been able to find anywhere that the Bible condemns being
overweight. It does speak often about caring for our bodies and taking
care of the temple of God.
It does talk to us about self-control and moderation. Those passages may
have some application to how we manage our diets, but it is simply not
the case that every one who is overweight is automatically guilty of
gluttony.
There are many causes that lead to being overweight, not the least of
which is heredity. For two years I only ate grilled or rotisseried
foods, steamed vegetables, and drank juice and water. I ran two miles
every day and at the end of two years I was simply amazed at the amount
of weight that I hadn’t lost.
On the other hand I know people, like my brother, who used to eat cereal
with cream instead of milk and go straight to bed and loose a pound of
two. Mind you it's really not their fault. They inherited an incredibly
fast and efficient metabolism. That doesn't excuse them from a healthy
life of diet and exercise nor does it mean that I just give in to my
genes and embrace my propensity to girth. It just means that it's going
to harder for some of us to care for the temples God gave us.
Let me say a word here about our attitudes towards those not like us. To
the skinny and fit, I say, you have no right to judge your overweight
brother or sister. Yes, they may have some issues they need to work on.
But they are made in the image of God and Jesus died for them. To
disrespect or discredit them for their size is sin.
Ephesians 4:29 says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Vs. 32 adds, "Be kind and compassionate to one another."
Making rude, hurtful comments about someone's weight is anything but
kind and compassionate. I can't imagine Jesus making fun of or despising
someone because they were overweight.
To the overweight, I say, what right have you to judge your thin and fit
brother or sister? Did not Jesus die for them also? They may be proud of
their figures and in need of humility, but you are not their master. The
same passages that call them to treat you with dignity arid respect
command you to treat them with dignity and respect. I cannot imagine
Jesus rejecting someone because they didn't reach a minimum weight
requirement for the kingdom of God.
In fact, it's a good idea to avoid calling attention to anyone's
physical appearance. The very short are often very sensitive about their
shortness. As one from among their ilk, I can testify that the very tall
are often sensitive about their inability to play Basketball or tell a
minute sooner that it is raining.
The best bet is for all of us to do what God does. According to 1 Samuel
16:7 he looks at the heart. So myth number one: obesity and gluttony are
not the same thing.
Myth #2: Just because you are thin or fit does not mean that you are not
guilty of an inordinate focus 'on food.
Gluttony is simply another word for overindulgence. Too much attention
to food can mean wanting more than you need on the one hand, or, on the
other, being over scrupulous about how much you consume. The anorexic is
as focused on keeping weight off as the chronic over eater is in putting
it on.
Some people are over indulgent with their looks. They exercise like
legalists, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. And in extreme
situations, some people will resort to purging to maintain what they
have determined to be an acceptable weight.
Being overweight doesn't necessarily mean you are a glutton. Being thin,
doesn't necessarily mean you aren't. It all has to do with our attitudes
about food. One definition of gluttony I read put it this way; it is
exaggerated or misplaced longing. If I had to settle on one that seemed
to sum it up, it would be that; misplaced longing.
Unless we recognize that our value as human beings comes from being made
in God's image, we will eventually be guilty of pride.
Unless we trust God to provide for all our needs, we will be guilty of
envy and greed.
Unless we recognize that vengeance belongs to God, we will forever be
struggling to contain our anger.
Unless we believe God when he tells us that we are designed for growth
and struggle, we will be subject to sloth.
And until we learn to enjoy God and find our pleasure in him, we will
always be trying to fill up the hole in our hearts with something; food,
sex, entertainment, excitement, conversation, alcohol, or some other
substitute or diversion.
Ok let's talk about some positive steps. Although it will probably sound
negative at first
America is an overweight nation.
Sixty percent of us are considered overweight based on height/weight
ratios. In the south, it's higher than that. We have more heart disease,
more high blood pressure and more cancer than any other developed nation
and more than most third world countries. I don’t want to get into the
connections between our national poor health and our diet and lack of
exercise. Studies showing those links are all over the internet.
Instead I want to raise another question. I wonder if there is a
connection between our declining health and our declining spirits.
While we were living in Nashville, some of our members worked with
Gwynne Shambling and the Weigh Down Workshop. It was a great idea where
they told you to feed your soul instead of feeding your bellies. You
would eat whatever you wanted but when your were satisfied stop. You
want a candy bar eat two bites and put it away. Thousands of people
participated in the Bible studies, and lost weight.
In one of her video series she made a comment that I thought was one of
the funniest things I had ever heard. In her sweet, Southern accent she
said: "It's not that pie you want, it's God you want."
I laughed about that for about 3 months until the truth finally hit me.
Maybe one of the reasons diets don't work is because they attack the
wrong problem. They aim at controlling the amount of food we take in.
What if that's not the problem? What if the problem has more to do with
God than with calories?
Now you can look at me and realize that I am not saying if you are
overweight you aren't right with God. I said earlier that there are many
causes for obesity or for being overweight, some of which are genetic.
What I mean to say is that if chronic over eating is the symptom, food
may not be the sickness.
Ever hear of comfort food? Or eating for comfort? I do that. The first
church where we worked was not a good situation so at night after Trista
went to bed I would sit up and watch TV and eat Ice Cream right out of
the Gallon Ice Cream Container.
Still today if I'm upset about something or angry or other wise
emotionally out of kilter, often I'll eat. My food intake is determined
by my emotions. If you're like me, something great happens, you
celebrate by eating.
Something bad happens, you console yourself by eating. I have a sneaking
suspicion that when I turn to food to find peace, I'm on the path to
making food my god. Instead of turning to God, I turn to the pie. Or in
my case, the Nutter Butter cookies.
Gwynne was right; it’s not the pie we want, it’s God we want.
There is a connection between the physical and the spiritual. So the
first positive step I would suggest would be to recognize and explore
that connection.
When are you most likely to over eat? Why? If it isn't hunger you are
trying to satisfy, what is it? Reason backwards from there and see if
you don't discover that there is a spiritual issue going on.
Here's one other, and I want to introduce this one with a little story
that is a favorite of mine called Cookies, from the book Frog and Toad
Together. (Read Page 30-41)
Gluttony is not just about cookies or any other kind of food. It has to
do with our unquenchable appetite for more. One way to combat any
temptation is to focus energy on its opposite virtue.
So instead of seeking a way to get more of whatever, begin seeking ways
to live with less. Less money, fewer possessions, less accumulation.
Less having it your way, more letting others have theirs.
Jesus put it this way; he who looses his life for my sake will find it.
No created thing can ever fulfill us, satisfy us or bless us like the
one who created us. Until we learn that, it isn't just food we'll
struggle with, it’s our relationship with God Himself.
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