I recently had a conversation with someone who works as a physical fitness trainer and is a member of a church of Christ. We were talking about spiritual disciplines when he said something to me that I never thought of before. He said, "The Bible warns us about gluttony, so does overeating and being overweight present an integrity problem for Christians?"
What? Gluttony as an integrity issue? Seriously?
Proverbs 23:2 (NRSV) - "...put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite."
Proverbs 23:20-21 (NRSV) - "Do not be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them with rags."
None of us want to talk about gluttony, but what do you think? Was my trainer friend right? Is being an overeating Christian an issue of integrity?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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8 comments:
That's it . . . I am started the healthy eating TONIGHT.
I will also begin English 101. I MUST proofread before I hit enter, I MUST proofread before I hit enter, I MUST . .
If those are the scriptures he referenced--he must use them in their context. Neither addresses being overweight due to gluttony. Both are warnings so that bad won't follow the action. Proverbs 23:3 is the why of the warning in verse 2. Proverbs 23:20-21 [NLT] "Do not carouse with drunkards and gluttons, for they are on their way to proverty. Too much sleep clothes a person with rags"
That being said--we do have difficulty relating positively to extremely overweight or obese people.
However, many overweight people--if we were to see them eating--we would not consider them gluttons. So we should be careful of accusing them of intemperance. Weight is genetically determined as well as by calorie intake.
Also mental factors along with struggles of life can have an effect as well.
So if we have no problem with extra weight gain--we should consider ourselves blessed of God but leave the judging as to gluttony or not to God.
It seems that people have little difficulty in discussing the "acceptable evils" of abusing one's body/health...but when it comes to obesity...sshhh! Is that gluttony? Does gluttony lead to obesity? I have many obese friend's, who are Christian's...their children are dedicated to caring for their bodies so they won't be obese like their parents. Most of these friends definitely are gluttons...the calorie count would cause you to throw up. I am not judging them; but it hurts seeing them physically grow more every day.
Rusty,
I have thought that this is a topic that many overlook in order to focus on other issues for quite some time. I just haven’t had the courage to argue the point for fear of being shot down or being cast as mean to “fat people,”etc.
It seems to me to parallel Matthew 7:3 when you have people teaching that one cannot have a single glass of wine with dinner while they themselves completely neglect their own health by how they choose to eat. I agree with Mr. Dallas that we cannot judge why somebody is overweight. However, I know an elder (and wife) in the church who have such a “sweet tooth” and admittedly lack self-control in their diet to the point that both have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. With the diagnosis, neither has made any changes in their lifestyle. The wife has had a partial amputation of her leg due to complications of the disease. It is difficult for me to be lead by somebody like this.
The issue is (at least) two-fold:
1) We must treat our bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit – 1 Cor.6:19-20
2) We must have self-control in all things - 2 Peter 1:5-7 – I enjoy dessert and could probably eat an entire chocolate cake, but I understand that I need to have the self-control to stop after one piece. This can apply to a lot of things (watching football, eating, exercising, tempers, etc)
I don’t consider myself to have a body that any healthy person would want. However, I do thank God on a regular basis for it and ask for his help in making healthy decisions and his forgiveness for the times when I have made the wrong decisions.
Absolutely. Go read Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.
I agree with annomyous..I have a friend who has lost her foot with diabetes and still won't lose the weight as her family loves to eat..Their whole family has major medical problems..they think it is all genetic ..but so much information is coming out about nutrition and what we could do to help ourselves..Eating is socially acceptable and has to be done..I think we all know when we have had enough and need to leave the table.
I personally have a problem with Thanksgiving and the over cooking..enough said..I will close
According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, Gluttony is defined as excess in eating or drinking and also as greedy or excessive indulgence. If anything takes the place of God in our lives then it is a sin. If eating becomes more important to you than serving the lord or becomes a crutch to your service it is a sin. This goes for anything. If we exalt food, tv, computers/technology and anything else above God, we are basically worshiping idols. So are all "fat" people sinning because of how much food they eat? I don't think so. Like others have said there are a number of things that can cause you to be fat. Genetics being one of them. However, if eating is causing you to be lazy, not work and fat, then maybe it is a sin. When you are obese it is hard to even leave your house. It will get harder and harder for you to go to church and to serve God. If that pattern continues it could lead to you falling away from Christ. That is why we must be careful of not over indulging in anything.
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