“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

The other day I ate an inordinate amount of food. All the while, I knew I should stop, but I thought, “What’s the big deal? I’m not overweight. I can overeat every now and then, and it’s okay.” I pushed the guilty feelings aside and gave in to gluttony. I believe gluttony affects the majority of people- you don’t have to be overweight to have this issue.

As I reflected on my actions from the previous day, I thought about all the reasons why it wasn’t good to overeat. To begin with, we’re made in the image of God, we’re the temple of God, and God tells us not to destroy that. When we overeat, we’re harming ourselves physically. The Bible speaks of gluttony as sin, which seems silly to talk about as a sin compared to all the other sins, but it is sin, and it’s very serious to God. And if it’s serious to Him, then it should be serious to us. How can overeating glorify God? It cannot. All anyone will see when I overeat is that I lack the self-control God has given me, I will be repulsive to others when I eat, and overall there will be nothing good that comes out of overeating. It's an abuse of my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. We can glorify God when we eat by showing that we can resist temptation, maintain self-control, and take care of the precious body God has given us through maintaining portion control and eating healthfully.

So it isn’t silly to talk about gluttony. It’s mentioned in the Bible, and if it’s important to God, it should be important to us. What can you do to glorify God by what you eat and drink?

Dear Lord, help us to mindful of what we put into our bodies and how it glorifies you. Let us not shove aside the topic of gluttony, thinking it to be something minor or silly, rather let us treat it seriously as you see it. Amen.

Take Action

Perhaps you struggle with this issue too. Begin by controlling what you eat and not always giving in to what you desire to eat. Keep a food journal in order to better maintain balance of what you eat.

For more information on this topic, listen to this radio show episode