What is Gluttony, Really? What the Bible Really Says About Gluttony [Podcast Transcript]

Title: What is Gluttony, Really? What the Bible Really Says About Gluttony

Podcast Date: June 16, 2023

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Description 

Today Heather digs into the topic of gluttony. So many of us have been taught in the church that gluttony equals overeating. We've felt shame, guilt, and stress as we've tried to not be "gluttonous" in the way we've related to food. And, in that desire and pursuit of not committing this sin, we've been co-opted by the myths and rules of diet culture. We've learned that going back for seconds or enjoying Thanksgiving dinner is gluttony. But, does the Bible really connect gluttony to food and our enjoyment of it? Does the Bible really say that gluttony is eating more calories than we need? Does God really watch every bite we eat waiting for us to cross the line into gluttony when we eat? You'll be surprised by all the helpful, Biblical truth in this episode as we dig in to what the Bible really says about gluttony.

Main Takeaways from this Episode:

1. The enemy has held us in guilt and shame and condemnation around Gluttony according to a standard that is not the Bible standard at all.
2. If you're trying to do intuitive eating and it feels uncomfortable because your body keeps telling you you're hungry and you're eating more than you used to eat, that is not gluttony.
3. Gluttony is about your heart, not about what's on your plate.

Helpful resources:

But What About Gluttony by Kevin DeYoung

Philippians 3:17-19

Proverbs 23

Outline

00:00 Introduction: Have We Got it Wrong on Gluttony?

06:20 How Gluttony Became a Favorite Vice 

10:10 Has God Set Us Up For Failure Around Food?

14:12 Holy Spirit Conviction Around Food

19:27 The Gluttony of Delicacy

23:47 Gluttony References in Scripture

29:38 Diet Culture’s Misinterpretations of Scripture

34:37 A Biblical Description of Gluttony

Introduction: Have We Got it Wrong on Gluttony?

[00:00:02]:

Hey there, friend. Heather Creekmore here. Glad you're listening to the Compare To Who show today. Today may be one of the most important shows we do, because as Christian women, specifically, I know there may be some guys listening too, I think we've gotten it wrong on gluttony. I think the church has been too heavily influenced by the voices of diet culture, which is really kind of rooted in idolatry and body idolatry. But I think we have just subconsciously let these messages seep into our congregations, and we're getting it wrong on gluttony. And I talked to so many women whom a dietitian would say isn't eating enough, that are worried that they are gluttons.

[00:00:55]:

Friends, that is not what it's about at all. And that's where we're going today. I'm so glad you're here for it. I really hope you'll share this episode with someone else in your life who maybe needs to hear this. Maybe this will be life changing for you, and maybe this will be life changing for them because the enemy has held us in guilt and shame and condemnation around gluttony according to a standard that is not the Bible standard at all. So I'm glad you're here for it. Hey. Today's show and really shows all this season have been sponsored by classical conversations.

[00:01:28]:

If you're looking to give your child a well rounded education while also ensuring positive socialization opportunities and their ability to succeed in life, then consider joining a classical conversations community and homeschooling right alongside local families. These communities are led by a trained licensed director, and families learn through classical conversations proven, Christ centered curriculum together in a community. There's locations in all 50 states, over 50 countries. There's bound to be a community near you. So to find your community today, visit classical conversations dot com backslash compare to who. That's classical conversations dot com backslash compare to who. Now let's get to today's show. Welcome to Compare to Who, the podcast to help you make peace with your body so you can savor God's rest and feel his love.

[00:02:19]:

If you're tired of fighting body image the world's way, Compare To Who is the show for you. You've likely heard lots of talk about loving your body, but my goal is different. Striving to fall in love with stretch marks and cellulite is a little silly to me. Instead, I want to encourage you and remind you with the truth of scripture that you are seen, you are known, and you are loved no matter what your size or shape. Here, the pressure is off. If you're looking for real talk, biblical encouragement, and regular reminders that God loves you and you're not alone, you've come to the right place. I hope you enjoy today's show, and, hey, tell a friend about it. Hey there, friend.

[00:03:00]:

I've gotta admit to you, I'm nervous about this one. This is such a hot button issue for so many, And there's so much out there. Some of it by men of God that I truly respect and admire. And so it feels really risky to me to even challenge some of these thoughts, but I think we need to. And here is my encouragement and exhortation to you. Will you get out your Bible? While you're listening is great. But if you're listening while you drive, that might not be convenient. So grab your Bible later.

[00:03:44]:

My goal is not to convince you to think like I think or believe like I believe. But I do wanna present some thoughts to challenge some of these things I think we're just getting wrong. But you get to decide at the end of the day. You get to decide what you're gonna believe. And I think that is the beautiful thing about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, having the holy spirit indwell you. You can ask for help to not only understand these things, we can ask the holy spirit for clarity and for wisdom. And we can, even it's not super fun, but we can say, hey, convict me. If gluttony is where I am going astray, convict me, please.

[00:04:34]:

I do not want any sin to stand in the way of my relationship with Jesus Christ. But friends, I think our thoughts and feelings around gluttony are based more in shame that comes from the diet culture that we live in and that our churches exist in and that our pastors exist in than it does from the actual word of God. So that's where we're going. Now I don't even really know where to start. I have tried to record this episode a couple times starting from different places. Honestly, It's like, ah, there's so much. So we're just gonna start with a history. Now I'm getting a lot of what I'm throwing at you today from an article, and I will link it in the show notes, an article called, but what about gluttony? It's by Kevin DeYoung.

[00:05:28]:

He's a pastor. I have read some of his other things. So I have some experience with what he believes, where he's coming from, and I think he's solid. So when I found this blog post on the gospel coalition site, I was really interested in what he had to say. Now full disclosure, the DeYoung article is actually kind of a response piece to a different issue. And it's the issue of homosexuality and how a lot of times you'll hear this argument that, like, why are Christians worried about that? Because, really, shouldn't we be worried about gluttony, and kind of a tit for tat on that issue is really where he's coming from. So if you click the link, you might be confused at first. But if you get deep into what he is presenting, oh, you'll find some good stuff.

How Gluttony Became a Favorite Vice

[00:06:20]:

So this is straight from DeYoung's article. I'm gonna read it to you straight from there. It says:

“Gluttony is a favorite vice to throw into the rhetorical mix because it is one of the so-called 7 deadly sins. As Will Willimon explains, the earliest formation of the list of 7 comes from Evagrius of Pontus, a desert monk and follower of origin who was later condemned at the 5th ecumenical council in AD 553.” He goes on to say, “it's not surprising that an ascetic who lived in a commune separated from the world might consider the temptation for food one of his chief maladies. One can detect more than a little monkish asceticism and some stoic disdain for the body in the father's abhorrence to gluttony.” Okay. What does that mean in common English? So, basically, I read this and then I went and I did more research on this Evagrius of Pontus guy.

[00:07:14]:

And so I said he was later condemned. Essentially, he was ruled a heretic and a mystic by, let's just say the credible Christian leaders of the day in AD 553. Okay? So just with that as your starting point, understand that the person who first connected gluttony to eating too much food was ruled a heretic and a mystic. Okay? So just, that's a little background. It wasn't Jesus. It was Evagrius of Pontus. Now, the other thing that DeYoung is saying here, just to kinda put it in common English, is that he's a monk. So, like, what could he go overboard with? Right? It's not materialism.

[00:08:02]:

Right? Monks don't have anything. Monks live, what, in solitude with other monks in a monastery. There is not a whole lot of sins available to this guy in terms of things he could actually do. Right? Sin is always in our hearts, so lots of sins he could commit there. But this is the guy who connected gluttony to overeating. Now, the other thing, the last sentence I read to you there, one can detect more than a little monkish asceticism and some stoic disdain for the body and the father's abhorrence to gluttony. The thing that DeYoung is saying here, and it kind of ties into gnosticism, right, where gnostics separated the body from, like, everything on the inside, your emotions, your spirit, your soul. Like, all those things were separate from the body.

[00:08:51]:

And this monk hated his body. I don't mean that he had body image issues. Instead, what I mean is that he hated the desires and the needs of his body. He felt shame that his body had needs and urges like the need to eat, and he was trying to control it. Maybe you can relate. I know I can. But that's not good theology that ties in to this disdain, this abhorrence as DeYoung says, this hatred, this, I don't know. I would say it's almost a fear, right, of letting the body get out of control because you eat too much food.

[00:09:35]:

And in that is, I'm going to say, not the way the Bible treats and talks about the body, right? The Bible doesn't talk and treat the body as if it is something we should disdain. Like, our body is us, and we are our bodies. Right? Our body is not to be praised. Our body is not to be, like, in terms of being put on a pedestal and, like, body more important than everything else. Right? But you can't do anything without your body. You can't live on this earth without your body. Right? You are made in the image of God. God made us on purpose for a purpose in a body.

Has God Set Us Up For Failure Around Food?

[00:10:10]:

And so any theology that detests the body or distains the body or doesn't appreciate the body or, you know, really treats the body as something bad or evil or icky is not good theology. And He created our bodies to run on food on purpose. Now, I don't know about you, but it's sometimes hard for me to figure out exactly how much food I need. Right? Like, there's really no way to be perfect in terms of eating just the right amount of food. I think this is one of the struggles really around intuitive eating is that we kind of go into intuitive eating thinking, like, okay. Well, if I am just intuitively eating, if I'm listening to my body all the time, then my body will always get it right. My body will always say, stop eating now.

[00:11:10]:

Beep beep beep. Alert alert. Stop eating. And then I'll listen to my body perfectly, and then I'll be the size I wanna be. And that's not what intuitive eating is all about. But it's also important to notice that, like, your body is not going to be able to do that perfectly all the time. There are going to be times when you are going to be in a rush. You're gonna be in a hurry.

[00:11:33]:

Maybe it's been an emotionally charged day, busy day. You're tired. You're hungry. You eat, and you might not know that you've eaten more than you wanted to or “should have” until 30 minutes after the meal because you feel, ugh, I ate too much. Right? Is that a sin? Is that really, like, what we're gonna say the sin of gluttony is? Is eating too much responding to a physiological desire to eat that God gave us and saying, oh, I ate too much. Now I'm a glutton. Now I'm a sinner. Like, if to me, it sounds like when we make that connection, it sounds like God has set me up for failure around food.

[00:12:20]:

Because how in the world am I supposed to know the exact perfect amount of food to eat every time? Like, most of us probably and, you know, I talk to you all the time and I know some of you feel so weighed down with shame over gluttony a lot. And especially my friends, if you've been a restrictor, if you've been a dieter, if you've been on all the plans over all the years, listening to your body is gonna be really difficult. Your body signals are gonna be really confusing because you've turned your body off, at least I did. I said, no. I don't wanna listen to that hunger. You know, I'm a champion if I can go to bed hungry. Like, ignoring my hunger makes me powerful and great. Like, those are kind of the mantras of diet plans that I had followed.

[00:13:14]:

And so I turned my body off, making it even more difficult for me to know when I was eating enough or when I was overeating. So if this is what gluttony is, it just seems wrong that God set us up for something so hard, and I really don't believe that's the truth. I really think God is a good God. He's a good father. I use this line in my book that comes out in December. Like, God has numbered the hairs on our head, but I don't think he's counting the macros on your plate. I think he loves you. And he gives you so much grace for your relationship with food to be as messy as it is because you have lived in a culture, in a world that has made our relationships with food so super messy.

Holy Spirit Conviction Around Food

[00:14:12]:

Okay. But, again, don't listen to me. Let's go to the Bible. So, DeYoung talks about how through church history, theologians have understood gluttony and the sin of gluttony, because it is a sin in different ways. And he talks about how for sin, it's, like, this immoderate desire that is the problem. Like, if you just want all the things. You want too much. You want want want want want want.

[00:14:34]:

But for others, it's eating more than we need. So there are theologians that adhere to this. But DeYoung talks about how Augustine, whom I love Augustine's stuff, Augustine of Hippo. Augustine said that food was not the problem. The problem is how we sought it and for what reason. So could your comfort eating be gluttony? That's, I think, what everyone's worried about. Right? Maybe. But I am not going to say definitely, like some do.

[00:15:07]:

I just don't think that's biblical. Because, again, physiologically, we were made to eat. And I love how my friend, Erin Davis, she did a series on her podcast, on feasting and fasting. And she talks about the story of how after Jesus was resurrected and he meets his disciples for the first time on the beach, what does he do for them? He cooks them breakfast. Like, what an emotional time. These disciples have been following Jesus for 3 years. They think he's gone. They think he's dead.

[00:15:46]:

They think it's over. Like, they're probably fearing for their lives if anyone would figure out their association. And Jesus comes and he cooks for them. Like, food is something that helps our bodies in times of great emotion. Right? Like, why do we all bring casseroles to someone's house when they have a death in the family? Right? Food is part of the way we grieve. Right? And grief is just one of many emotions that we experience. Right? God made our bodies. He knows the wide variety of emotions that we feel, not just internally in our bodies, and food can help sometimes.

[00:16:32]:

So I cannot tell you that you are being gluttonous if you have had a super stressful, hard, just taxing day, and you go back for a second bowl of ice cream. I'm not in a position to tell you that is what gluttony is. And that's why I want you talking to the Lord about this stuff, friend. I don't wanna sound cliche, but you gotta be talking to the Holy Spirit. I noticed that when I took my rules, my diet culture rules around food off the table and started just really digging into, okay, what is the truth? Like, what is okay with food? Like, I noticed the Holy Spirit was willing to convict me when, willing - that's probably a silly word. He was faithful is probably the better way to say it, to convict me when I was going overboard. And there were times when I had to make that decision. Okay? There were times when I had the bowl of ice cream, and it was like, I want more, and I'm going back for the second bowl.

[00:17:35]:

And I heard the holy spirit's conviction, not audibly, but you don't need that, Heather. I'm here for you. It's okay. And there were times when I was like, nope. I need it. I need to do it. And I'll tell you, this is a little bit of a divergence here. But understanding how easy it was for me to do that, how easy it was for me to ignore him in the face of temptation and go get more.

[00:18:01]:

And I hate to use the word temptation there because I think associating food with temptation is way out of whack. Right? But being tempted let me say it this way. Being tempted to do something that I felt the Holy Spirit had clearly told me not to do. In the face of that temptation, I was willing to say, nope. I'm gonna do it anyway, and that is sin. But acknowledging my own ability to do that really helped me empathize with others who struggle with other sins, where in my mind I'd be like, come on. Like, just say no to the temptation. Like, it's bad for you.

[00:18:36]:

Just say no. Like, don't do that thing. Like, get over that addiction. You know, stop doing that thing that's harmful to you or to your family. Just get over it. And when I realized, oh, wait. Holy Spirit can convict, and we have the choice to say no. I'm gonna do it anyway.

[00:18:54]:

Like, it gave me more empathy for others who are struggling with different things. Okay? Was it gluttony? Is the sin I was guilty of when I went back for that second bowl of ice cream? I still don't even know that that's true. Right? I think this, and I may be guilty of when I go back for the 2nd bowl of ice cream, is more likely not listening to the holy spirit. Right? Like, not obeying. That's the sin that I probably need to be more concerned about rather than eating too much ice cream. Now I wanna bring in CS Lewis here. I'm a big CS Lewis fan. I don't know if you are.

The Gluttony of Delicacy

[00:19:27]:

But you need to read Screwtape Letters. Now Screwtape Letters is, if you're not familiar with that, it's really it's kinda hard to understand because it's like this demon that's writing to his, another demon is his uncle, and, they're talking about, like, this man and, like, his life following Christ. He becomes a Christian. And and so, like, the demon is advising the other demon on, like, really how to take him down. But there's a lot of gold in this book. And one piece of gold that you may have never noticed, I didn't until very recently, is that CS Lewis talks about a different kind of gluttony. He talks about a gluttony called the gluttony of delicacy. And he characterizes this by, and this is how DeYoung says, persnickety old ladies, the kind who always turn aside whatever is offered and then insist on a tiny cup of tea.

[00:20:23]:

And Lewis says they're just as guilty of gluttony because they put their wants first no matter how troublesome they may be to others. Oh, my friends who are gluten free and don't have celiac or any other diagnosis, or, like, oh, oh, friends. There's so many different ways that I felt convicted when I read this of all the times when I was, like, I'm gluten free. Like, I can't believe you didn't accommodate me. You know? And I never would have said that out loud, again, okay, hear me. But this is what's going on in my heart.

[00:20:56]:

You know? Like, I remember I had surgery and, I had my tonsils out. And this was, like, 7 or 8 years ago. And I just remember we had people bring us meals, and I was gluten free. And I thought that people knew that, but not all of them did. And so people were bringing us meals filled with gluten, and it was just like, I can't eat it. And I remember, and I was heavily medicated, so maybe I should just blame the medication. I just remember kind of throwing a fit to my husband crying. Like, I just want something to eat, and I can't believe these people don't know that I'm gluten free.

[00:21:32]:

And it's ridiculous. Right? But Lewis says that's gluttony. Thinking of ourselves ahead of others being the, like, oh, I can't eat that because I'm not, like, eating this now and eating this now and eating it. Like, oh my goodness, friends. Like, how many of us have done that? I'm raising my hand. Like, I'm at the front of the line, so feel no shame or condemnation coming from this girl because I'm leading the parade of people who have turned down food because of dietary restrictions that were really just about being thin, not about anything medical. Okay. Hear me.

[00:22:08]:

If you've got an allergy, if you got something medical going on, I am not shaming you in any way. I'm just saying, I wanna be skinny, so I'm not eating these things. And CS Lewis says, that could be gluttony. Let's, like, really broaden our definition of gluttony to include that. Doesn't that kind of blow your mind a little bit? It blows mine. DeYoung says, gluttony is using food in a way that dulls us from the spiritual and distracts us from God. And he says that's certainly a danger for most of us, but it's not the same as enjoying a meal, feeling stuffed, or being overweight. Those are not what gluttony is.

[00:22:54]:

Okay. So let's dig into scripture. You can grab a Bible if you have one. So he says this. This is all from him. I wanna make sure that I attribute credit to where credit is due because he's done this research. So he talks about first, he sets the stage. He says the Bible is overwhelmingly positive about food.

[00:23:14]:

There are old testament feasts and visions of heavenly feasts. And let me just kinda add to this a little bit. Right? Remember, we're gonna have heavenly bodies someday, and we won't need to eat. And yet, God is going to throw us a feast. Like, I don't know. According to our kind of small definition of gluttony down here, I would say, if you don't need to eat and you eat, we would consider that gluttony a lot of times in the American church. And here, that's what's gonna happen when we get to heaven. We're not gonna need to eat, and we're gonna eat.

Gluttony References in Scripture

[00:23:47]:

Like, is anyone else, if your mind is blown, just drop me an email. Okay? Heather at compared to who dot me. Because I wanna know. It blew my mind to think about that. I'm just gonna read to you what else here. He says, if the New Testament has an overriding concern with food, it is that God's people not be overly concerned about it. What? Wait. Wait.

[00:24:07]:

Wait. It's that God's people not be overly concerned about oh, my friend, how many of us are stressing about food all day, every day? I was. Like, my friend, I understand you if that's where you're at. And what God's more worried about is that we're overly concerned about food rather than eating too much of it. Like, oh, does that blow your paradigm? Blows mine. So he talks here's some scriptures to look up. He says, food does not commend us to God.

[00:24:35]:

That's 1 Corinthians 8:8. The kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, Romans 14:17. And then he says, no honest reader of the New Testament can deny that Jesus and the apostles were much more concerned about what we do sexually with our bodies than with the food we eat. And the references he uses here are Mark 7:21-23, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, and 1 Timothy 4:1-5. Now get this. This part blew my mind. Okay? In the English standard version of the Bible, the word glutton appears, how many times do you think it is? Just put a guess out there in your head.

[00:25:12]:

Got your guess? ESV, the word glutton appears 4 times. Was that lower than your guess, higher than your guess? And in every instance, the word glutton is paired with the word drunkard. And here's the references on this. Deuteronomy 21:20, Proverbs 23:21, and then it's used in a slander against Jesus. Remember, Jesus was called a glutton, Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34. The word gluttonous shows up once again alongside reference to drunkards in Proverbs 23:20. Two other times we have gluttons, once in a quotation from a poet speaking of the lazy Cretans, this is in Titus 1:12, and the other time in reference to the company that a shameful son keeps, and that's Proverbs 28:7. Okay.

[00:26:08]:

I'm gonna attach this article so all the verse references are in there for you to look at. But, friends, I don't know… 4 times?! I mean, and it's always with drunkard. Like, does that change the way you have thought about gluttony at all? Right? If it's with the word drunkard, you're gluttonous and you're a drunkard. If those are kind of lumped in together, what does gluttony really mean? I think it means something so much more than eating too much at Thanksgiving dinner. That's not it at all. It's really about self indulgence. Really hedonism, like, just doing whatever pleasures you without regard to anything else.

[00:26:51]:

Now here's the one that I've heard so many people fat shamed for this verse that it makes me so sad. So get out your Bible and go to Proverbs 23. Now as I was researching for my book that comes out in December, I just was, like, Christian perspective on gluttony or what is gluttony? Like, I just Googled a couple of things like that. And I found this article, and it was, I don't know, decades old, but it was Billy Graham. Like, I read it and I was kinda angry. And I was like, oh, my word, Billy Graham wrote that? That? And then I was really, like, frustrated and kinda discombobulated. And it was actually a letter, like a letter to Billy Graham or a letter you know, kinda like a letter to the editor column, but it was like ask your faith questions or something like that. And it was from a newspaper.

[00:27:39]:

And this man was writing in, like, with his concern over his mom who he thought ate too much, and he was worried about her having health problems because she eats too much. And and so he's basically asking Billy Graham, like, what should I do about my mom that eats too much? And Billy Graham wrote him back this letter, really referencing Proverbs 23. And the famous verse is Proverbs 23:2, and I'll just read you this little snippet out of context, and I'm gonna put it all together for you. “And put a knife to your throat if you're given to gluttony.” Okay? 

And, in fact, I saw an Instagram post the other day, and it made me so frustrated. And it was the same kinda thing, like, put a knife to your throat if you're given a gluttony. And the person who did it was, like, see, you're supposed to put a knife to your throat if you're given a gluttony, not, like, put a knife to your stomach and get bariatric surgery or just it was it's ridiculously out of context. And I'm not one to argue with people on social media but I did have to say something on this one.

[00:28:37]:

But so this passage, I want you to hear the whole passage. And I want you to get out your Bible, look it up. But Proverbs 23 is not about eating too much food, and I'll show you why in just a second. Okay. Here's how it goes. “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you're given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich.

[00:29:07]:

Do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Do not eat the food of a begrudging host. Do not crave his delicacies, for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” And then listen to this. “You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.” Okay.

Diet Culture’s Misinterpretations of Scripture

[00:29:38]:

So put a knife to your throat if you're given to gluttony. And then later, it says, you'll vomit up the little you have eaten. Like, this passage is not about how much you're eating. This passage is really about a lust for wealth, maybe even a lust for power. But lusting after wealth, wanting to be rich, wanting all that comes with being rich, and do not crave his delicacies for that food is deceptive. It's not about the actual food that's on the plate. It's the food of wealth and materialism. Friends, as I was thinking about this today, I was thinking, you know what? I think I've been more gluttonous with clothing than I ever have been with food, because I think any gluttony if, you know, anything I would have classified as gluttony, let me put it that way, around food that I would have thought, oh, that was gluttonous behavior around food.

[00:30:38]:

I think now that was physiological because of my restriction. But when it comes to clothing, oh goodness. Do I recognize that I have too many clothes? Absolutely. And yet do I go buy more? Yeah. I keep doing it. Like that is gluttony, I'm feeding the beast. And do I think, wouldn't it be nice to have more money, to have more things? Yeah, Yeah. Sometimes I think that.

[00:31:04]:

And that, my friend, is craving his delicacies. That is the food that is deceptive. That is what I need to repent of. Be like, no. My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory. Right? This is not about food. And then, again, verse 6, do not eat the food of a begrudging host. Do not crave his delicacies, for he's the kind of person who's always thinking about the cost.

[00:31:25]:

Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You'll vomit up the little you've eaten and will have wasted your compliments. Like, it's really just about how we relate to each other. Right? Like, how do we love each other through our relationship, our interactions around food. Right? Are we inviting people over for dinner and counting like, oh, they just ate $5 worth of chicken. And, oh, they ate that expensive cheesecake. I thought we'd only eat half of it. And I well, whatever the thing is.

[00:31:56]:

Right? I've done it. Right? Like, oh, I don't really wanna feed them. I'll buy the regular chicken instead of the organic because we're having company. Oh, embarrassed. Have done it. Alright? Like like, that's what it's about. How do we relate to food in the company of others? So I think to just use that little scripture out of context of the whole proverb there is really not biblically accurate. There's another one, and this one you've probably heard too.

[00:32:28]:

It's Philippians 3:19. In fact, I've even coached some of you, and you’ve been like, but Heather, Philippians 3:19. And that says, “their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” Now who is the “they”? Right? So if you read 3:19, you gotta go back and read what is before it. So let me go back and read for you the verses before 3:19. Let's go back to 3:17. “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters.

[00:33:06]:

And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For as I've often told you before, and I'll tell you again even with tears, many 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.” My friend, this is about enemies of the cross of Christ. If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you are not an enemy of the cross of Christ. Philippians 3:19 is not an admonition for followers of Jesus. It is not a litmus test as to whether or not you are a follower of Jesus.

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It is a description. Paul is explaining who are these people that are enemies of the cross of Christ. These are people whose destiny is destruction. Their god is their bellies is what many translations said, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Right? In fact, DeYoung says that this is probably a euphemism for their sexual sin or it's a reference to the Judaizers legalistic demands regarding Mosaic dietary restrictions. Now because I'm trying to tread so delicately here, we need to answer the question, right, what does the sin of gluttony look like? And I just wanna read you DeYoung's definition because I really don't think I can do better than he did. Okay.

A Biblical Description of Gluttony

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So here's how he answers that question. 

“When we take time to open our bibles and read the relevant passages, we find that gluttony is so much more than eating a McRib sandwich, and that partaking in food is much less of a concern than partaking in sexual sin. The composite picture from these verses suggests that a glutton is a loafer, a partier, and a profligate. He's the prodigal son wasting his life on riotous living. She's the girl on spring break who thinks the pinnacle of human existence is to eat, drink, and hook up. A wastrel living for the weekend. A big city high flier who cares for nothing except indulging in high society. And ne'er do well who takes lifestyle cues from the Hangover movies.

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So, absolutely, the church should speak against the sin of gluttony. But once we understand what the sin entails, I'm guessing most people would say they have a good idea where the church already stands on these issues.”

That's the end of his article. Friend, if you feel like you're eating too much because you're eating more than you ate on your restrictive diet, that is not gluttony. If you're trying to do intuitive eating and it feels really uncomfortable because your body keeps telling you you're hungry and you're eating more than you used to eat, that is not gluttony. If you're with a group of friends and celebrating and eating, maybe it's birthday party or you know, celebrating a family event. And you're eating, and you don't realize that you're super full until 30 minutes after the meal. That is not gluttony.

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If you weigh more than you weighed in high school, if you weigh more than you weighed in your thirties or forties, if you weigh more than you want to weigh, that does not mean you are a glutton. Friend, we've gotten it wrong on gluttony. Gluttony, just like so many other, dare I say all the sins in the Bible, is about your heart, not about what's on your plate, and not about what your body looks like. Is food the way you are sensually enjoying life, and that's what you live for, and you live to party, and you live for I mean, I guess you could be, like, a foodie to the extreme where, like, it is your idol. But like we talked about in the last show, I don't think food is an idol for most of us, and I don't think gluttony is the hang up. Just one final thought for today, and this comes from Instagram, but it's a post by Leslie Schilling. She is an RD and an author who has a new book coming out on diet culture and eating and a healthy relationship with food. It's called Feed Yourself.

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I'm really looking forward to this book, and I'm looking forward to getting to know Leslie better as well. I'm hoping to invite her on the show, but let me read to you what this post says. You can follow her on Instagram and see this for yourself. Leslie Schilling is her name. She says gluttony is a heart problem, not a what you eat or how you eat problem. And here's the caption. In my 20 plus years in practice, so as an RD, I have never met a glutton. But I've met countless people who've been harmed by misinterpreted teachings.

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We've caused so much hurt and shame around this word because we think the example of using or eating too much food is the definition of the word. It's wrong. Gluttony is a misaligned heart posture that leads to taking from others, not the food on your plate, not your willpower over the plate. We must stop these shaming teachings. Feeding yourself even the times when it feels like a lot isn't gluttony. In our restrictive culture, it makes sense that we feel that way. It's time to wipe diet culture from our lens. And I just thought that was so good.

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Just a great final reminder. Friend, what if the truth is God's not mad at you about the way you're eating? What if he actually wants you to enjoy food? What if he actually invites you to come to the table and eat? What if he's not like that parent that watched everything on your plate? If he's not got cameras on you every time you go into the kitchen, like, oh, what's she gonna choose? Is she gonna be gluttonous? That is not our God, and I'm sorry if that's the example that was set forth for you by a relative or parent. But, friend, that is not what God wants in your relationship with food. I think, frankly, he wants you just to be free, to think about other things, and serve him, and live life, and enjoy this life you've been given with the people you have, and the opportunities you have. And friend, there's just so much more to life rather than stressing over food and body all the time. I'm glad you listened today. I hope you are too. Hey.

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Let me know your thoughts on this episode. Heather at compared to who dot me. And, hey, leave a review. If this touched you, I would love to see more reviews to help other people find the show. Well, thanks for listening. I hope something today has helped you stop comparing and start living.