The Twinkie God
Joe Carter, who writes at a blog called The Evangelical Outpost, recently posted on the issue of gluttony. While we may joke about how much we can eat or how much we love good food if we stop and think about it I think we might be appropriately convicted.
Far from spoiling your dinner working through this issue in light of the gospel should free us up to enjoy food as it was intended- for God’s glory and with thanks to Him. Knowing our own motives and finding the right balance may not be easy but it is worth thinking about.
Gluttony was once listed among the seven deadly sins. But now it’s considered, when it’s thought about at all, as a private health matter. We may realize that overeating has led to weight gain, a change in appearance, or diminished health. But we never recognize it as a spiritual problem.
Oddly enough, with the exception of those related to sex, American Christians tend to take an antinomian view of “physical sins.” We act as if corrupting our bodies will have no impact on our souls. Such an un-Biblical view, however, must be rejected by anyone who acknowledges that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Lest we start to feel superior to the obese neighbors, we should remember that not all gluttons are overweight. I’m 5′10′, 180 lbs and though I no longer have to endure the rigors of Marine Corps martial arts, I’m still in relatively decent shape (pear-shaped, perhaps, but still…). But while my waistline may not completely expose my shame, I’m prone to overindulging in food. I eat several snacks between meals. I eat when I’m in my car. I eat when I’m bored. I eat when I’m restless, when I’m frustrated, when I’m watching TV, when I’m on the computer–I eat constantly for no other reason than that I can.
In stuffing my face, I neglect my spiritual life. I turn to the refrigerator instead of turning to prayer. I pause at the vending machine instead of pausing in meditation. I seek out a piece of bread instead of seeking the Bread of Life. I fill my life with food in order to avoid filling it with God.
“Their end is destruction,” the Apostle Paul warned, for those for whom “their god is the belly.” We worship a false idol when we succumb to the sin of gluttony. We replace the focus on the Lord with a focus on our own indulgences. We make a god of our belly and allow our souls to turn softer than the creme filling in our Twinkies.