“Dirt”
Part 3 – Gluttony, Sloth, and Anger
I. Introduction
How did your homework go? Did you count your blessings? Did you build safeguards for lust?
We have been discussing the fact that we don’t like to have our dirt exposed. Now, I must admit that we don’t mind everyone else’s dirt being revealed. That is why an entire industry has been created to expose dirt . . . tabloids/celebrity magazines. 60 Million celebrity magazines are sold every week in the USA.
According to research out of the University of Ghent in Belgium, our brain cells light up in positive ways when we tune into tabloids. Gossip is an instant stimulator of endorphins. When the dirt gets dished, we’re happy campers. It makes us feel good, providing escape from our own stressful, hectic lives.
We love everyone else’s dirt and refuse to deal with our own. That is why Jesus tries to shake us back to reality when he harshly asks us in Matthew 7:3-4, “3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?”
We must deal with our dirt. Yes, other people have dirt, but our responsibility is our dirt. We have dealt with Pride, Greed, Lust and Envy. This morning I want us to conclude by talking about Gluttony, Sloth, and Anger.
II. Gluttony
American is a society built on excess. We are a nation of gluttons. I want to deal specifically with gluttony in relationship to food, but we are gluttons in every area.
Did you know that Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that’s roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.
Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily.
The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world’s population lives on 25 gallons.
We over consume everything. Americans constitute 5% of the world’s population but consume 24% of the world’s energy. To put that in perspective 1 American consumes as much energy as 370 Ethiopians.
We are gluttons. Our more is better attitude causes us to go overboard.
That is why:
There are 100,000 alcohol deaths in America per year…but obesity related deaths are around 300,000
76% of pastors are either overweight or obese!
Gluttony is defined as “an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.”
Scripture has as a glaring example of gluttony. It is the story of Esau found in Genesis 25. You will remember that Esau was extremely hungry. He was famished, but he wasn’t starving. I want to encourage you this morning to get rid of that statement. Are you really starving? We aren’t and neither was Esau and yet he throws away his birthright for a bowl of stew. Food in exchange for his future! No restraint! No sense of proportion! He gives it away for a measly bowl of stew.
That is gluttony in a nutshell. No restraint.
One man said that "gluttony exemplifies an absence of the restraint that dignifies the human condition."
One writer says there are 5 types of gluttony:
1. Being overly fussy about the quality of the food one eats, being satisfied with only the choicest brands, the choicest cuts of meat.
2. Obsessed or finicky about how the food is prepared, e.g., spending inordinate amounts of time and energy in cooking, or being overly distressed if something comes out slightly overcooked or undercooked or just a little bit off in the seasoning.
3. Consuming food in excess quantity; this overeating is what we usually have in mind when we speak of gluttony.
4. Eating at inappropriate times, e.g., right before mealtime (impeding one’s capacity to eat and/or enjoy the meal itself), or just snacking constantly all day long.
5. Eating too ravenously, wolfing one’s food, uncouth table manners due to over-intense involvement with the food.
I want to say some things quickly about gluttony.
1. It is usually the obvious sin. I felt like the Lord said to me regarding this sin that this is usually the easy one to spot. It is usually, but not always obvious. So we like to point or make condemning statements or judge. Yet, the other sins we have talked about are just as wrong, damaging, and in need of cleansing, but we can’t see them so easily so we either ignore them or overlook them. It is the whole speck/plank deal again. Is gluttony wrong? Yes. Does that give us the right to point? No!
2. Not all gluttons are obese or even overweight.
I have fallen to gluttony at times. Chocolate is a weakness. But the times I remember being a glutton is more connected with a particular restaurant in the south. I remember on several trips with One Voice when we would stop and eat a meal only to travel about a mile or two down the road and my weakness would appear. Bojangles! I have literally eaten a full meal and then stopped one mile later and eaten again because I love Country Ham, egg and cheese biscuits and cinnamon biscuits so much. That is gluttony. Not being able to handle portions.
So how do we break gluttony?
a. Understand that stewardship of your body is a spiritual issue
This isn’t just a health issue or a cosmetic issue so that we will look better. How we take care of our body is a stewardship issue. No ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? Anything that controls us is our God. If our appetite controls us, then Jesus isn’t our God, food is.
“A glutton is one who raids the icebox for a cure for spiritual malnutrition.”
Philippians 3:19 “19But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.”
b. Recruit a visible partner and an invisible partner.
Invite accountability. If we need accountability to battle lust we also need it to battle gluttony. Find someone you trust and who can call you on the carpet for how you eat. They will help hold your feet to the fire to start now. If gluttony is an issue, consult a doctor. Get tangible help. Get professionals to help you with this issue.
But at the same time don’t underestimate the value of an invisible partner. His name is the Holy Spirit. We pray about pride, lust, greed … why not gluttony? Is that an area that the Holy Spirit is unable to assist in? No, in fact if you will remember one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self control! He can help you to put the Twinkie down and back away slowly! We think the Holy Spirit is just for goose bumps in church when the fact is that the Holy Spirit is good for every area of our life. We just have to allow Him to work.
c. Take responsibility & stop blaming everyone and/or everything.
One of the marks of an adult is that they will actually take ownership of where they are in life without trying to blame everyone else. Other people can impact our decision to eat…but they don’t stuff the Oreos down our throats! It is our issue. It is our battle to fight and our battle to win.
Remember the powerful French Proverb that states a Glutton: is one who digs his grave with his teeth.
III. Sloth
A site foreman had ten very lazy men working for him, so one day he decided to trick them into doing some work for a change.
"I’ve got a really easy job today for the laziest one among you," he announced. "Will the laziest man please put his hand up?"
Nine hands went up.
"Why didn’t you put your hand up?" he asked the tenth man.
"Too much trouble," came the reply.
I have to admit this is one of biggest pet peeves. Work is not a cuss word.
Sloth is defined as “the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.”
We often fail to realize that typically the avoidance of physical work ultimately transfers into our spiritual walk as well.
That is what happened in Thessalonica:
The congregation at Thessalonica had a problem. Several members of the fellowship had stopped working. These people believed that the return of Jesus was imminent and if Jesus was coming soon, they saw no reason to work. They didn’t need to save for a retirement, and it was more important to focus on spiritual things.
The attitude and idleness of these people created problems in the congregation.
¨Rather than devote themselves to the study of Scripture and prayer, the lazy people became busybodies and interfered with the lives of others.
¨The people of the congregation, because of their Christian love, supported the lazy lifestyles of these people and drained the resources of the congregation so that it could not care for the poor, hungry, and needy.
¨The lazy demonstrated a bad lifestyle to the others that Paul did not want anyone else to emulate.
Listen to Paul’s rebuke for this lazy way of living. He said in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13:
“Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don’t permit them to freeload on the rest. 7We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. 8We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us. 9And it wasn’t because we didn’t have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious. 10Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” 11And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. 12This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. 13Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.”
This must not be tolerated.
Proverbs is perhaps the most logical place to find God’s view on laziness.
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4 NIV
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.
Proverbs 12:24 NIV
A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done. Proverbs 12:27
But to really hear God’s opinion on sloth and laziness all you have to do is go to Ezekiel 16:49-50.
“The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. 50They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them.”
Did you catch it? Sodom the “poster child of debauchery, sin, filthiness, and dirt” and of all the adjectives God could have used like perverted, immoral, sicko’s, He points out lazy as one of the top sins that they fell into.
What is the solution to sloth?
1. Get off your rear and do something. This isn’t rocket science. Quit standing around watching others work. Quit putting stuff off. Sweat isn’t deadly. Our good “works” should glorify God. No idle hands. Parents model hard work. Parents ask for hard work. Get the kid off the phone, computer, and the game long enough to teach kids to work. Reward them, compensate them, but train them in work.
2. Give an honest day’s work. How much time in wasted in USA at work?
According to a new survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average worker admits to frittering away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time.
Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.
If we don’t give an honest day’s work whether our employer knows it or not we are stealing! Not a sin that is in this list, but deadly none the less. Plus it damages our witness. Besides, we don’t work for a man we work for God.
Colossians 3:23 “23Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, 24confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. 25The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being Christian doesn’t cover up bad work.”
3. Work as hard on your spiritual life as you do your job or your hobby.
Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.”
We must work on our spiritual life. Our spiritual life doesn’t just grow and mature on its own. Our spiritual life takes diligent work and attention. It won’t always be fun and it won’t be easy, but we must discipline ourselves to pray, read, serve and grow. God is found by those who diligently seek Him!
IV. Anger
When a husband loses his temper he usually finds his wife’s.
Anger is defined as “inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger and also encompasses anger pointed internally rather than externally.” The idea of anger or wrath also carries with it the concept of revenge.
Anger has serious implications for us. The constant flood of stress chemicals and associated metabolic changes that accompany recurrent unmanaged anger can eventually cause harm to many different systems of the body. Some of the short and long term health problems that have been linked to unmanaged anger include:
• Headache
• Digestion problems, such as abdominal pain
• Insomnia
• Increased anxiety
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Skin problems, such as eczema
• Heart attack
• Stroke
This is why Marcus Aurelius said,
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Scripture teaches us that anger is a sin. However, it also teaches us that it is possible to be angry, but not sin.
Paul explains this in Ephesians 4:26-27, “26Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. 27Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”
Or it can be said how your used to hearing it, be angry, but sin not.
We see anger punished in Scripture. Cain and Moses. Cain was angry because his brother’s sacrifice was accepted when his wasn’t. Moses, you will remember, in a fit of anger struck the rock when he had been commanded to speak to the rock. His anger led to disobedience and it cost him the Promised Land. Their anger caused them to take matters into their own hands. They acted without God. Their anger caused damage.
We also see that Jesus felt anger. He became so angry at the men that were price gouging folks in the temple that he formed a whip out of cord and drove them out of the temple. Jesus also became angry when he dealt with the Pharisees right before he healed the man with the withered hand.
Jesus’ anger was focused on wrong doing rather than the wrong doer. Jesus’ anger produced health rather than damage. Jesus talks about the wrong kind of anger and then tells us how to deal with it in Matthew 5:21-24.
21“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ 22I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. 23“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, 24abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
James 1:23 gives clear differentiation between our anger and Godly anger. He says, “20God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger.”
Often we are angry because we want our rights. We feel offended.
So to break anger we must do a couple of things.
1. See with God’s eyes instead of ours.
If we don’t see things how God sees them we will attack people rather than the sin or the wrong. We begin to make it personal. God eyes are full of grace!
2. Operate exclusively by the principles found in Matthew 5 and Matthew 18.
If someone does you wrong. If your feelings get hurt. If you get mad. Go talk to the person who caused it and apologize and clear the air! Don’t talk to everyone else. Don’t exact revenge. Don’t avoid. Confront and clear the air. The answers to your prayers depend on it. No other way to do it. No exceptions!
3. Deal with anger quickly.
Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. If you do it will fester and become worse. You will find offense on every turn if you don’t deal with your anger quickly.
4. Quit playing God.
Quit demanding your rights. Quit keeping score. Quit watching everyone else and expecting them to live up to your expectations. Give people a reprieve! Allow God to judge and keep record!
5. Get angry at the right things. Get angry at sin. Get angry at injustice. Get angry at prejudice. Get angry at starvation. Get angry at abortion. Get angry at poverty. Get angry at homelessness. Get angry so that that emotion will compel you to action.
V. Homework
a. Gluttony - fast a meal, but not with an emphasis on the food but rather on God, develop a plan with the help of a friend, doctor, or accountability partner. Take this sin seriously.
b. Sloth - work an extra hour for free, do something you have been putting off and do it today, (Get your kids busy) sit down and work out work plan for your kids.
c. Anger - write a note to someone who made you angry and ask for their forgiveness, get angry at something and do something to help fix it.
