An unknown predator has entered our lives; one that starts as soon as we are born. Most of us would never recognize it if we saw it because “it” is the norm of the society we live in. We sometimes feel that it is almost a right because we live in such a land of abundance. America has so many resources and so much to offer to anyone and everyone who reaches out for it. We have a wonderfully abundant country and because we have such abundance a predator has lurked into our hearts and our minds. Slowly throughout our lives, the predator of Satan known as gluttony has drilled its way into our hearts and minds. It has burrowed so deeply that we have become almost a slave to it. Gluttony is the desire for excess; wanting more, bigger, better, more often, faster stuff. I think it is time to overcome our seeming obsession with the destructive sin of always desiring and taking more than we need. We can regain control of our appetites, viewing habits, and seeming “need” for more stuff.
America seems to be ripe for such gluttony. A few examples include one about Dodger’s stadium; which now offers seating for an all you can eat buffet type concessions stand. You pay about 40 or 50 bucks and you can go to the concessions stand as many times as you want and pick up four items at a time. Reading some of the interviews, people seemed to be absolutely ecstatic about having such a “great idea.” They could gorge themselves and in the end save money doing it. While I was researching the idea of gluttony trying to find illustrations that are considered addictions, not once did I find a single illustration of the desire of excess to be an addiction. Yet, that is exactly what gluttony is – an addiction to something whether it be food, materialism, or even television.
The true face of the sin of gluttony is that we can desire something more than we desire God. Food and entertainment become more valuable and more important to get than spending time with God. Paul refers to this type of behavior in Philippians 3:19 when he says, “…whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” Society today purports bigger and better stuff all the time. Everything has to be super-jumbo sized. I am waiting for McDonalds to come out with a two pound mega burger for like $15. Yet, we have at least one example of a man who decided not to eat the jumbo food; one man who had conquered his desires and subjugated them to God’s laws. Daniel knew his boundaries and where he should and shouldn’t indulge himself so that he could stay true to God.
The Example of Daniel – Daniel 1
Daniel decided he would not eat luxurious food from the kings table but instead would eat what he needed to stay alive. Daniel 1 describes the deportation of the Israelites to Babylon. The best and brightest young men would be employed in the king’s service. They were to be fed from the king’s table with the best food in the land. Daniel would have none of it. “Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.” The guard’s do not want Daniel not to eat the choice food. If Daniel and his friends did not look good in front of the king, they would lose their jobs and possible their lives. Daniel then asks for a test period where they can experiment with the new diet. “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” At the end of the ten days, the young men looked better than those who ate from the king’s table. Daniel had won a small victory over the temptation to become latched to luxurious food. He rejected the king’s food, in favor of a controlled diet which was plenty nutritious to keep him alive.
Daniel set a good example for us to learn from. Later Daniel ate and drank normally with the King. However, he set the pace for his life by abstaining to prove he had dominance over earthly desires. We will look at three earthly desires we face most often, how we obsess over them, and a one word answer on how we can overcome them.
Obsessing over Food – “…whose god is their appetite…”
First let’s look at the most common example and discussion in the New Testament; desiring food and overeating. Just as Philippians says, “…whose god is their appetite...” Food had become a primary source of pleasure for them and because they derived pleasure from food, they sought out food at every turn. God created food for nourishment and pleasure. Why in the world would we have taste-buds on our tongues if we weren’t supposed to “taste” and enjoy certain foods? Do you remember the reasons why Eve ate the apple?” “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate;…” The fruit from the tree looked pretty tasty man. Adam must have seen a steak when she handed it to him. Steak sounds pretty good actually. God made food good originally. I’d like to note that after the fall, food is still pretty tasty.
Has everyone heard of the movie “Super Size Me?” In this documentary a man eats McDonalds’ food every day for 30 days straight. He sampled every single item on the menu at least once and consumed more than 5,000 calories a day. If they offered the option to super size something, he took it. He gained almost a pound a day, raised his Body Mass Index by 4 points from healthy to overweight, and had catastrophic liver damage. The damage done to this guy’s body could push him into a heart-attack even though he has already lost the weight. It even took him over a year to lose it all. I guess the old saying “you are what you eat” really is true.
This isn’t just about what you consume and put in your body. Overeating can devastate your health, especially over several years. The real problem lies deep down in the pit of sin. People say they “just can’t stop eating.” They can’t seem to stop because they are fighting the symptoms and not the real problem. The real problem is the sin of gluttony. The desire for food is dangerous. If you ever have to have food “now” and cannot wait then you probably have a gluttony problem. If you sit around and when you get board you decide to eat, you probably have a gluttony problem. Any time where Christ takes a back seat to food, you have dredged in the sin of gluttony. If you turn to food when you are in distress, you probably have some trouble with gluttony. Gluttony isn’t just over eating but the desire for excess; the desire for something extra. You can’t look to food for comfort or for hope. Those places belong to God and he wants them back. How do you deal with it? Stop eating it. Put it away and don’t pick it up. Don’t buy it when you go to the store. Put away pop and start drinking water. Put down the candy bars and eat some fruit. At least by substituting, just as Daniel ate water and vegetables, you are showing that you have control over your eating habits and that your stomach is owned by you and not you by your stomach. The one word for curing gluttony is “fasting.” Fast from the food you indulge in. Keep away from it for one month. I tried this with pop and I have had maybe two since then because I just don’t want it anymore.
Obsessing over Things – “…whose god is their stuff…”
Next, we should probably address the desire for excess in relation to stuff. My modified version of Philippians 3:19 says, “…whose god is their stuff.” The wisest man in the world fell in many ways due to this problem. Solomon was given great wisdom as well as wealth and honor by God. Solomon could solve the world’s toughest riddles and yet dug his own grave. The Old Testament says that no one was supposed to multiply horses, chariots, and wives. Solomon did all of these. His appetite for more women and more power could not be satisfied. He obtained many wives for political reasons. He would marry a woman, the daughter of a king, from another country so that he could develop diplomatic relations. He gathered more and more stuff. He even had the joyous ability to build the temple of God. The same man who knew that God could not be held in a temple found himself completely disobeying God’s commands. His foreign wives led him to allow and become a part of idol worship. This led to the downfall of his reign and the split of his kingdom.
A modern day example of someone who indulged himself too much comes from a man named Howard Hughes. “All he ever really wanted in life was more. He wanted more money, so he parlayed inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star. He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every sexual urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two U.S. presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise. He concluded his life emaciated; colorless; sunken chest; fingernails in grotesque, inches-long corkscrews; rotting, black teeth; tumors; innumerable needle marks from his drug addiction. Howard Hughes died believing the myth of more. He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards.”
As I said an extreme example but one that definitely makes a clear cut understanding of what always wanting more gets you. Most of us will never have the kind of money or power that Solomon or Hughes had but we can still have the attitude. Once we have finally attained a certain level of wealth or a certain something like a big TV or a new car, or a deck, or a new house, whatever it may be, the temptation is to want something more. Many people become buried in debt because they have to have more. Once they almost have that one thing paid off they buy another. If you keep your credit cards maxed out, then you may have a gluttony problem. If you are never satisfied with what you have now, you probably have a gluttony problem. If you ever shop just because there is a sale, you may have a gluttony problem. Shopping for stuff you need that’s on sale is one thing. Shopping just because there is a sale is another. We need to learn to be content with what we have. One word, fasting. Go on a spending fast. Do not buy anything but that which you absolutely need. Buy just enough food. Tithe. Pay your bills and then put the rest of your money into a savings account.
Obsessing over Entertainment – “…whose god is their television…”
Finally we should probably address one more area of common excess; entertainment; “…whose god is their television…” Jesus had performed many miraculous signs and healings during his time on earth. He had turned water into wine and had healed the deaf, blind, and lame. He cured a man’s hands and even healed leprosy. Of course he had a huge following, he was doing things no one else had ever seen before. One day many people came to him asking for more bread, after he had already miraculously fed them. He finally told them exactly what they were doing; looking for signs not food. They were so caught up in being entertained by the miracles of Jesus that now they would corrupt a need to get more. They would use the excuse of needing food so that they could see more miracles and be entertained. Solomon too indulged himself in entertainment as well. Read the book of Ecclesiastes to see what he found out about desiring and over-indulging in the pleasures of this world. Simply put Solomon found that nothing could satisfy completely and everything always left a place for more.
According to one Barna Group Pole, “Born again Christians spend seven times as much time on entertainment as they do on spiritual activities.” So for this one hour in our church service today, many of you could spend up to or more than 7 hours watching T.V., playing video games, or some other form of entertainment. There is a time and place for entertainment but that is a lot of entertainment time. Do any of you know why Amy and I don’t have cable television? It is because I was absolutely addicted to it several years ago. I couldn’t go half an hour without watching. I would go to work, come home, and watch television until bedtime. Sometimes I would play video games until bed time. It got so bad that when we didn’t have it; I would walk in and unconsciously turn on the television and watch a blank screen while playing on the computer. How pathetic I was… I was a slave to my own television. Do you have a problem with it? Don’t just blow this off. I want you to really think about whether or not you have a problem with too much television.
We have an almost insatiable desire to be entertained. That is why preaching has changed so much over the last fifty years. They used to preach for two hours and now if they go over 30 minutes somebody has a cow. Keeping the attention of the audience and being entertaining has drained some preachers of their real job; preaching the scriptures and not entertaining. Somewhere along the line, people have lost the ability to really deeply reflect on life’s true values. I would the 7 to 1 ratio of time spent on entertainment verses time spent on our spiritual lives proves that we have an excessive issue with being entertained. Some symptoms of this include needing to watch certain shows, being unable to find other things to do beyond being entertained, getting upset when you miss your shows, an inability to focus on spiritual matters without having your mind drift to a movie or TV show. Turn it off! Get rid of your TV. If you cannot get rid of your TV, then you probably have a gluttony problem. They survived for several thousand years without one; so can you. Cut off the cable if you have a problem with too much entertainment. Instead, have some friends over and enjoy some time together. At least that way you are building relationships with people and not your television! The key once again is to fast. Do it for one whole month. Turn it off and don’t turn it back on.
Daniel knew how to overcome the desires in his life. He would give them up and not touch them until he had dominated his own desires. He would fast and not have whatever tempted him. Our god can easily become food, stuff, or even entertainment. We prove we love those things more than the True God by giving our time and money to them. Gluttony is the sin of excess. We need some food to live and having some stuff is just fine. Even a little entertainment will do us some good but you easily indulge yourself and soon find that you are trapped in a sin that you may not even recognize. Do you think about food long before lunch? Do you have to buy that one new gadget or sale item? Does your television stay on longer than your bible stays open? I know I found many faults in myself. What will you find? Just like any other sin, there is hope. We have a gracious and loving God who forgives our sins; including gluttony. He forgives our desires for more and even forgives us giving him up for those extras. What a wonderful God we serve. He even gave us a way to conquer those temptations; fasting.
Who is the God in your life? Your television. Your food. Your stuff. One person said that rich people are really glorified janitors for the things they own. Who runs your life? Maybe it’s time to repent of our failures and be forgiven. Maybe it’s time to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Maybe its time to recommit your life to Jesus Christ.
