GLUTTONY--THE SIN NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
February 3, 1999
Don Hawley
America is fat. Very fat. For the first time in history more than half of the citizens of this country are overweight. More than 1 out of 5 are seriously obese. Aside from the matter of appearances, being overweight carries with it serious health problems. This is a matter that needs to be addressed.
Some might be thinking, "Addressed? Haven’t you noticed that every magazine and newspaper issued in the nation has at least one article about losing weight?" Yes, I've noticed. I've also noted that these multitudinous articles have done very little to change the picture. Even though 95 percent of them advocate a diet guaranteed to make one lose weight very rapidly, and that without any struggle whatsoever. Something is wrong.
What’s wrong is that while most everyone seems to recognize the problem, few are willing to face up to the cause. Everybody wants a quick fix. Sorry, while there is a solution, it isn’t particularly quick or easy.
I’M GUILTY
I dare to write this article because when I do I’m not just pointing my finger, I’m preaching to myself. Let me give you a little history of my own experience.
Neither of my parents were overweight. In fact, my mother was one of those enviable people who can eat all they want without gaining weight. My problem up through high school was that I was too skinny. My pencil-thin figure wasn’t helped any when I spent two years in the South Pacific on a US Navy Gunboat. We were always so far in advance of our supply ships that we existed mainly on whole wheat bread baked aboard and peanut butter. That didn’t give us much impetus to overeat, and by the time I returned after the armistice I looked like Mahandas Ghandi just after one of his longer fasts.
That didn’t last long, however, once I got back to my mother’s gourmet cooking. What I experienced then was something revealed in a study carried out at the University of Minnesota. In a dietary experiment they put a group of volunteers on a low, low calorie Regimen, and kept them there until they were quite emaciated. Then they gave them all the rich food they wanted or could hold. The result was that their weight shot up to unhealthy levels almost overnight, and it wasn’t muscle, just plain unhealthy fat.
The same thing happened to me, but since we gain only one ounce at a time I failed to take note. Then it happened. At work I learned that someone had referred to me as "the fat man with the mustache!" That did it. I was ready for reform.
I don’t know where my new young wife learned to deal with my problem, but she handled it just right. She put me on an exact calorie count, one that was low enough to cause me to lose weight as long as I didn’t cheat. There was no wild and dangerous plan such as existing solely on grapefruit. I ate pretty much what I had always eaten, only now it was rationed—and there were no second helpings. If at any meal I didn’t use my entire quota, then those precious calories were recorded on a slip of paper and held in a cup. When the total points in the cup were high enough I could go out for a milkshake, without in any way hurting my weight loss program.
This was a safe way to lose weight, and although it was fairly slow—as all proper weight loss programs should be—it was steady and certain. When I reached my proper weight, then I could up the calorie total to a maintenance level rather than a loss level.
And I lived happily ever after? Not quite. Like most I got careless through the years until as I write this I am looking at the keyboard over a somewhat protruding abdomen. No, just make that a big, fat belly.
DARE TO USE THE WORD "FAT"
Before any problem can be successfully dealt with, the problem has to be honestly faced. People who have a drinking problem learn that at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting they can’t get hide behind statements like, "It ’s true that I do drink a little too much," or, "Well, I’m just a social drinker." Instead they have to stand up, face the group, and proclaim, "My name is John Doe, and I’m an alcoholic."
If we have a fat problem, we’re not going to conquer it by avoiding the truth. If we are fat, we need to admit it, at least to ourselves.
How can we tell if we’re fat? It’s really not too difficult. Just stand stark naked in front of a full-length mirror. I know that takes courage, but it will spell out the truth. If we look fat in the mirror, we almost certainly are—assuming we're not anorexic. There, part of the battle is won. (It doesn’t work very well to do an assessment with our clothing on, as some of us have gotten very skilled at selecting attire that hides the truth.)
When I did have to look in the mirror, I always made sure it was a front-on look. Then things didn’t look too bad. Whenever I got up the courage to peek at my profile, I was aghast. No one should ever be walking around with a bay window like that!
As I already said, truth in the matter is all-important. Don’t fall into a new trap I’ve spotted recently, where it is stated that "Fat is beautiful." Many beautiful people happen to be fat, but it’s not their fat that makes them beautiful. The most beautiful thing God ever created was Eve, then Adam, and God’s handiwork shouldn't be disfigured. Fat destroys what our Creator had in mind for our appearance.
In addition to this, of course, excessive weight is very dangerous. It invites all kinds of health problems, and even can cause death.
It should be obvious that God can’t be happy about our extra poundage. I didn’t say he doesn’t love us; his love is constant regardless. The point is that he loves us so much he doesn’t want us to be fat.
THE SIN NO ONE TALKS ABOUT--GLUTTONY
Perhaps we should define the term "gluttony." That’s not difficult; the dictionary says it is simply "excess in eating." God has a problem with such behavior.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Prov. 23:21.
Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. Ezek. 16:49.
I can’t help but think that God sees America today as an incarnation of Sodom. While every day thousands of children die of malnutrition and starvation, we keep eating ourselves into oblivion. For the first time in history, more than half of the people in our nation are overweight. And one out of five is seriously obese. There is no excuse for such a situation; we stand condemned.
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deut. 21:20, 21.
I’m glad that today they no longer stone people who overeat, but it does seem to indicate that we're not dealing with a trifle.
And I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say, "He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of the worst sort of sinners!" But wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it." Matt. 11:19.
Obviously our Lord didn’t consider eating a sin, but I have a hard time imagining a fat Jesus.
NOT A SALVATION ISSUE
Gluttony is a sin. Period. However, I’m not making this a salvation matter. If any and all sinful behavior keeps us out of the Kingdom, then none of us can be saved. We all fall short.
There are things much worse than overweight. If we keep overeating, eventually those around us are going to know of our weakness. But the harm the fat person does is mostly to himself, while the gossip does harm mostly to others. A loose tongue can cause untold damage, and has even been known to kill. Gossip is a deadly sin, and yet it's rarely even mentioned in Christian circles. The gossip’s sinful behavior isn’t externally visible, so he seldom is condemned. But he still will have to face a God that hates gossip.
Salvation aside, God obviously doesn’t want us fat, and our greatest desire ought to be to please him in all things.
DON'T HIDE BEHIND EXCUSES
"I have a glandular problem" That may be true in isolated instances, but most of us have a problem with overusing our salivary glands.
"All my relatives are fat." That may be true, but that doesn’t doom one to certain obesity.
Let’s use two other problems as examples. The Bible clearly condemns homosexual acts, so to claim that God deliberately creates homosexuality in people is to say that God is evil. He would be creating the very thing he condemns. A person may be born with a predisposition toward homosexuality, but that person doesn’t have to perform homosexual acts. To do so is a choice.
The Bible also condemns drunkenness, so to claim that God creates people with an uncontrollable urge to drink to excess is again to say that God is evil. A person may be born with a predisposition toward alcoholism, and if such a person dabbles with drinking there’s a good chance he will become an alcoholic. But no person who shunned alcohol ever became a drunk. It’s a matter of choice.
Obesity is a special challenge, because while one doesn’t have to perform homosexual acts, or drink alcohol, one must eat to survive. The devil knows that appetite is an ideal area in which to attack us; it worked in the Garden of Eden, and it's still working today.
IS THERE ANY HOPE?
Let us keep in focus that fat is not the root problem; fat is merely the end result of engaging in the sin of gluttony.
But since we have to eat, and that frequently, is there any hope for overcoming gluttony? If God condemns it, there must be a way. I didn’t say an easy way, just that there is a way. We need to consider some Bible texts.
For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37.
That is a clear, bold statement. Either we accept it or reject it; I choose to accept it.
Jesus replied, "I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself." John 5:19.
When Christ came to earth he voluntarily chose to lay aside his divine power, and live as one of us. Yet he did no sin; how could that be? Christ was able to conquer every temptation the devil sent his way, because he trusted entirely in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Can we do the same?
I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. Phil. 4:13.
If the Bible is true, then with the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit I can refuse to be a glutton. I have a choice. But how should I proceed?
CAN I EXERCISE MY WAY TO A SLIM FIGURE?
Is exercise the answer? Everyone should be walking at least a half hour a day, five days a week. Exercise is vital to good health, but those who look to it to take care of all their weight reduction problems are probably doomed to failure. It’s still mandatory to exercise yourself by pushing away from the table in time.
By the way, it seems to me that the human "appestat" is out of whack. It may have operated well in Eden, but something has gone wrong since. Some time or other we've been called away from the table before we had satisfied our appetite, and then were unable to return. At first we were terribly disappointed, but twenty minutes later we suddenly discovered we weren’t hungry after all! You see, our appestat lies to us. We need to get up from the table while still feeling slightly hungry. If we eat until our appetite is satisfied, we will have eaten too much.
SURELY DIETING IS THE WAY OUT
Common sense should tell us that dieting is not the key to successful weight loss. I’ve pointed out that virtually every issue of every magazine and paper in America has at least one article telling of an amazing new way to lose weight—all without any effort on our part, of course. Obviously that’s a lie, or otherwise we wouldn’t be a fat nation.
Learn right now that "diet" is a bad word. It is by definition temporary; something we suffer through until we can quit—and start feeding our face again. The only defensible diet is a sensible calorie-count system that takes us down to our desired weight safely. And then we move to a maintenance level of eating, and stay there for the rest of our life.
What we seek is not a magic diet, but a permanent lifestyle.
Just the other day I learned something interesting. When farmers want to fatten their pigs for market, they put them on a diet! They quit feeding them until they are squealing with hunger, and then suddenly offer them all the food they want. The pigs just leave their snouts in the trough and soon are fattened for their demise. Been there, done that?
Many "miracle" diets are dangerous. A personal friend of mine went on one of the highly touted liquid diets. He was losing quickly and thrilled with the process—until he suddenly dropped dead. I’ve read of several other such cases when dieting is taken to some extreme. Forget the "miracle" concept; it doesn’t work.
A FEW SUGGESTIONS
Not too much can be said in the scope of this article, but here are a few simple suggestions.
It may be an old adage, but it’s still sound; eat to live, don’t live to eat.
Be careful of "all you can eat" buffets; you may be tempted to overeat just to be sure you "get your money’s worth."
Practice leaving at least a small portion of every meal. If you’re worried about "the starving children in China," realize that stuffing yourself really doesn’t help them at all. Instead help carefully selected ministries that work to help the world’s hungry.
Don’t push yourself to foolish extremes. You don’t need to look like Twiggy; the emaciated models on the fashion runways are not proper role models for the average person.
Calories do count; it’s not just the kind of food you eat, but also how much. Late studies indicate that cutting calories back to a sensible level not only brings health, but also longevity.
Don’t inhale your good, eat slowly and chew each small bite thoroughly. Enjoy your food! So much so that you don’t want to wolf it down.
Don’t skip meals; that only makes you prone to overeat on the next sitting.
Don’t take second helpings.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
I'm now going to go where some of you probably will choose not to follow, but I must do so anyway. According to the Word, Jesus spent a great portion of his time releasing people from demonic oppression. The presence of the demonic was recognized as a plain fact in Bible times, and in the Third World it still is. Only here in the Western world are we so "smart," and scientific, that we rule out the presence of demons. That is a dangerous stance; as we near the final conflict demonization is going to be more of a problem rather than less.
While it's true that a person who is possessed by the Holy Spirit cannot also be possessed by a demon, nevertheless demons can intrude into Christian lives as they are given legal ground to do so. And they can stay and cause trouble until cast out in Jesus’name. Jesus didn’t command the demons to "come off" victims, but to "come out."
I'm not talking theory now; God has allowed me to be personally involved in demonic deliverance. And this is not just a spiritual gift for certain ones; ministering deliverance is open to all Christians in Christ’s name. To become truly knowledgeable one needs to study demonization in the Bible with an open mind, and also peruse some contemporary books on the subject. I can’t take time to go into more detail, but I want to quote from two books dealing with the matter at hand. The first is Deliver Us From Evil by Don Basham, and I am going to begin quoting on page 165:
"I met John in Cleveland, Ohio. A Presbyterian pastor, John had a thriving church where the charismatic movement was active and healthy. Still, he himself had a personal problem which he had not been able to overcome.
"‘I tell you frankly, Don’ John told me one sunny afternoon as we drove along Lake Erie, ‘I don’t think this makes a very good witness.’ And he patted his huge stomach. It was true; John was very badly overweight. He described a lifelong struggle against overeating. ‘It’s not glandular, it’s not a medical problem. It’s simply a case of too many calories,’ John confessed. ‘I know that but I can’t seem to do anything about it. Listening to your talk about demons, I began to wonder if I am being manipulated by some kind of spirit. Do you think we could pray about it together?’
"Of course we could. We pulled into a parking area overlooking the lake and I led John step by step through deliverance. As we both expected, gluttony was identified and cast out. Afterward I gave John some suggestions on protecting his deliverance. As far as I could tell we had left nothing undone to ensure John the victory he so earnestly desired. By now I had witnessed so many deliverances I would have stated confidently that this was a successful one.
"I make such a point of this because three months later when I was in Cleveland again I looked forward to seeing John. But it became obvious that he was making every effort to avoid me. When we finally appeared at the same meeting together I saw why: if anything John was heavier than before. After the meeting I approached him. ‘Something is wrong between me and thee,’ I said. ‘Can we talk about it?’
"John looked at me for a long time, then finally nodded. ‘Yes there is something wrong. This deliverance business of yours just doesn’t work . . . as you can see.’
"John’s story was most interesting. After his deliverance he had had two weeks of freedom from his old compulsion to open the refrigerator door every time he passed it. He was delighted and went about telling people of the tremendous gift God had given him. During this short period he did indeed lose ten pounds.
‘But then, bit by bit, it became difficult again for him to pass that refrigerator. John was confused. If indeed he had been delivered how could he still be having his old problem?
"‘I can understand how healing can be a process,’ John said. ‘You can become well bit by bit. But deliverance is different, isn’t it? Either you have a demon or you don’t. I guess my demon of gluttony never left. Or if it did, it came back.’
"As I listened I suddenly caught Satan in the middle of a lie. I recalled from my earlier research how both evil spirits and the carnal nature were concerns of the New Testament church. The first Christians used deliverance if the problem was evil spirits, prayer and self-discipline to crucify the flesh. That, I suddenly saw, could be the answer to John’s difficulty. He was involved not with one problem, but two. When John was young he had a tendency in the flesh to overeat. It was a weakness to be overcome by prayer and will power. But subtly and cleverly an evil spirit took advantage of this weakness and invaded his body as a demon of gluttony. Then John had two sources to contend with; his natural tendency to eat too much, and an evil spirit which had taken root in this weakness and lived there.
"I explained the principle to John.
"‘Don’t you see,’ I said to him. ‘You really were set free from the evil spirit which had been tormenting you. What was left was the natural ground, your own liking for food. The demon you could not control, but your own appetite you can. Remember, an evil spirit comes in through our weaknesses. After it is cast out, we still have the weakness to overcome’
"I saw the light of understanding come into John’s eyes.
"‘Don, I do believe your are right! He exclaimed. ‘I was so excited with my deliverance and freedom those first few days that I completely forgot my natural craving for food. When some of that craving returned I guess I became discouraged and assumed nothing had happened.’
"‘Then go back to your victory,’ I said to John. ‘Claim it again. What you are encountering how is simply a temptation of the flesh and you can control it. It’s not the spirit of gluttony still in control, and don’t let the devil tell you it is.’
"I saw John again some months later. It was, frankly, a bit difficult to recognize him. He had lost sixty pounds. His skin tone was firm, his step light.
"‘Ah, there you are, John said with mock severity. I've got a score to settle with you. Do you realize that you and your deliverance ministry have cost me an entire wardrobe?’"
Now note how Derek Prince deals with this same topic in his book They Shall Expel Demons.
"In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul says, ‘Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’ This raises a very practical question: Is it possible to overeat to the glory of God?
"This issue confronts Christians of the Western world in particular, where overeating has become a lifestyle. How many would even consider that they might be enslaved by a demon of gluttony? Yet surely this explains why multitudes switch from diet to diet, never achieving their goal of stable, moderate weight. They are as much in bondage to food . . . as others are to alcohol or nicotine. Furthermore, the spiritual and physical consequences of overeating may be no less harmful than those associated with nicotine or alcohol." p. 186,7.
"Compulsive eating can also be demonic. But gluttony is ‘respectable.’ You may not find many alcoholics in the contemporary Church, but you will find many gluttons! Compulsive eating usually starts with the loss of self-control. Then one day gluttony slips in. Christians are often unwilling to acknowledge that they are compulsive eaters. But acknowledging the sin is the essential first step to deliverance. p. 169.
"Nowhere in the Bible does God commit Himself to forgive sins that have not been confessed. But for those who confess, His promise is clear: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ 1 John 1:9 . . .
"If you are troubled about some specific sin, be honest about it. Do not call it by some fancy psychiatric name. Most of the names for our basic sins are not pretty. And God forgives them only when we acknowledge them as sins. He never promises to forgive ‘problems.’ If you have a ‘problem’ with overeating, call it by its name: the sin of gluttony." p. 207.
If one does have a demon of gluttony, then a weight problem is not going to be resolved until that demon is expelled. Unfortunately, some churches don’t even believe demons exist today, let alone help their members rid themselves of such influence. However, a determined person can find, in any part of the country, someone with experience in the casting out of demonic forces.
But, as Don Basham pointed out, the matter is not necessarily resolved when a demon of gluttony is cast out. There likely will remain a habitual weakness of the flesh in overeating. However, God has provided help in that area as well.
Our goal in Christian growth is to be day by day more like our Savior in character, and Paul tells us what attributes make up such divine character.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.. Gal. 5:22,23.
Most of us like the front end of this attribute list; love, joy, and peace. We are not so happy about the end of it—self-control. It is, however, vital we understand why this latter virtue is included.
When it comes to eternal life there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn it; it’s a gift from a loving Father. Our growth in Christ, on the other hand, is not merely a gift. We can’t sit in a rocker and wait for God to tell us he’s perfected our character. We have a role to play—and total character perfection will not be attained short of the Second Coming of our Lord.
I used to mistakenly ask the Lord to make me kind, or loving, or gentle. But God cannot answer such a prayer; he is not into making us do anything. He has given us the power of choice, and he will not force us into any mold.
For instance, God clearly likes for his people to be meek in nature. Should we then pray, "Lord, make me humble?" Note what the Word says:
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10.
Character growth is a cooperative venture. We do what God cannot do for us, we choose. We exercise our will. At that point the Holy Spirit moves to provide us with the necessary strength to achieve. That is why we can do all things through Christ, because he strengthens us through the Spirit. We are without excuse if we do not continually grow in character.
What shall we say then in conclusion? Here in America we have a huge health problem, one that leaves people badly out of shape. We can’t change the whole nation, but we can deal with the problem in our own life. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can control our appetite and our weight. That would be very pleasing to God.
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