The Vice No One Wants To Talk About (Even The Church)

Ever had to reset your phone to its default settings; the basic configurations pre-programed into your device? You don’t know they’re there until something goes wrong and you have to resort back to them. Your heart has default settings too; the Bible refers to them as our "sin nature". They're what we call vices, natural tendencies rooted in our flesh such as pride, gluttony, envy, and lust. By around the 4th century or so, early Church Fathers (leaders within the Christian faith) began to nail down what eventually became known as the seven deadly sins.

Last fall we walked our Church through a series called VICES & VIRTUES as we tackled them each at a time. You can catch the full series HERE. I also plan to lay them out in more methodically in a future blog. I think it's super helpful to understand how each of these vices seek to master our hearts and the disciplines Christ has given us to combat them.

As we journeyed through the series I braced myself for the particular Sunday I would tackle gluttony. In my entire Church upbringing I have never heard a sermon nor read a book about gluttony. Perhaps because I grew up in the American south where the Church gathers around the Presence AND the POTLUCK! If we’re honest, it's culturally acceptable and even encouraged to overindulge in the name of faith and family.

As a result, over 40% of Americans 20 years and older are considered to be medically obese and the leading cause of death in our country is not gun deaths, car accidents, or cancer, but rather heart disease, often brought on by a lifetime of unhealthy practices and eating habits. Yet, of the seven vices passed down through the history of the Church, gluttony seems to be the only one the Church largely remains silent on.

THE WORD:

Genesis 25:29-34 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Allow me to make some important distinctions: Gluttony is not AWAYS synonymous with obesity. Someone being overweight does not automatically make them a glutton and someone being thin does not automatically mean they're NOT a glutton. Gluttony isn't being bigger than the person next to you, enjoying dessert or sweets, nor is it feeling full or having a big meal.

So let's nail down a clear definition.

Gluttony:

- The craving for consistent over-indulgence and habitual excess.

- The unrepentant and unrelenting pursuit of more, most often in the form of food but also in the form of other strongholds that can take root in our lives including social media, gaming, shopping, working, and more (thus the phrase, "glutton for punishment").

Gluttony is the noise in your head that consistently brings your mind back to your next meal, your next outfit, your next shopping spree, your next gaming level, or your next workout. It’s the thing that occupies more space in your heart than it should.

God is the God of more than enough, but gluttony is the god of never enough.

And the antidote for gluttony is self-control.

Self-Control is the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. It is the result of walking in step with Jesus and daily encountering Him; because you cannot spend time with Jesus and not begin to act like Him. Looking at a couple of instances throughout the Bible where God confronted the vice of gluttony, let's nail down three distinctions between gluttony and self-control:

1. Gluttony DESPISES self. Self-control DENIES self.

In Genesis 25 we find Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham. As the older brother Esau was set to receive the larger inheritance and patriarchal blessing from his father. This was considered his "birthright." Being the firstborn was a massive privilege in Hebrew culture, so it was no small thing when Esau willingly gave up his birthright for a meal.

In fact, the Bible describes Esau as despising his birthright! When you read the story, it doesn’t sound like Esau hated being the first born; it just sounds like he hates being hungry. So, Jacob exploited Esau’s inability to deny himself. When Esau chose a momentary pleasure over a long term promise, the Bible tells us that in the eyes of the Lord it was as though Esau despised his inheritance.

See, every vice is a sin against God, but of all the vices gluttony is among the greatest sins against yourself.

When we neglect to take care of ourselves and steward our own health, it’s as though we despise the future God has for us. Compromising our future for repeated and unrelenting momentary pleasure is actually a form of self-abuse.

Notice it says Esau became known as "Edom" so wherever you see Edomites in the Bible, it refers to Esau’s descendants. Follow the storyline of the Edomites and you'll discover they became a PAIN to the Israelites. Just put that in perspective: Esau sold his rightful place as the main character to became the villain all because he chose his appetite over his future.

Because he gave up his birthright for some red stew (not even a steak ya'll!) he became known as Edom which mean "red." Jacob's name was changed to Israel. Esau’s name was changed to Edom. Jacob was marked by an encounter with God. Esau was marked by compromise with sin. You will either be marked by your Savior or marked by your sin.

Don’t you fall for the sin of despising your future. You have an inheritance in Christ! A life of love, joy, earth-shaking ministry, and power; to share the testimony of Jesus, to love others well, to raise your kids and to be world changers. There is a great and mighty work for you to do on the earth. Don't let the vice of gluttony destroy that.

2. Gluttony sacrifices TOMORROW for TODAY. Self-control sacrifices TODAY for TOMORROW.

Hebrews 12:16"See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son."

The scriptures often draw a connection between gluttony and sexual immorality. Why? Because they’re both about becoming subjected to our appetites. This is why as parents we begin to train and teach our children to manage even their physical appetite at a young age. You’ve probably been in a grocery store and watched a kid throw themselves on the floor and wail for candy at the checkout counter. Maybe it was your kid… maybe you were the kid. We all know if you want the kid to stop immediately you just give them the candy. But if you want to make them into Godly, well-rounded disciples you have to give them opportunities to deny themselves.

Managing your physical appetite is the ground level to managing your sexual appetite and developing your spiritual appetite. While no appetite is inherently bad, becoming a slave to them is. Self-control, in its most basic form, is self-denial. To be self-controlled is to live with vision.

There was a famous study done in the 60s and 70s known as the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. They took 600 kids, brought them in a room one at a time, and placed marshmallow in front of them. They could have this one marshmallow immediately OR if they waited 15 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

After leaving the room they watched as the kids squirmed, covered their eyes, kicked the table – all in an attempt to make it 15 minutes! In the end 67% (2 out of every 3) gave in and ate the single marshmallow. But here’s what’s interesting: as they continued to follow all 600 kids throughout the next decade, they found the 33% who waited for 2 instead of settling for 1 went on to score higher on SATs and get into better programs and universities. Taking into consideration there were perhaps other variables at play, their findings suggested that the ability to delay gratification (deny oneself) proved to be an integral skill necessary for long-term success.

See, Gluttony says:

• Give yourself what you want instead of what you need.

• Go into debt instead of being content.

• Gratify your cravings now instead of build for the future.

Gluttony ultimately deceives present you into failing future you, so that future you despises past you. Read that again until it sinks in.

3. Gluttony rejects the TRUE GOD. Self-control rejects LESSER GODS

Numbers 11:4-6, 10, 18-20 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”... Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled...“Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed…You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?"

You're probably familiar with how much complaining the Israelites did as they came into the wilderness. But notice the Bible says the "rabble" or, as other translations put it, "the foreigners among them" were the first ones to voice their displeasure.

Many tend to overlook the fact that when the Israelites left Egypt, there were Egyptians and other people groups who went with them! They had seen God demonstrate His power through the plagues and recognized the favor of God resting on the Jewish people, so they went along. From the beginning God’s heart was that Israel would be a light to all nations and that every tribe, tongue, people, and nation would come to know and follow Him. Let's be clear: it wasn’t foreigners that God forbid, it was foreign gods.

As the foreigners among them started to complain, they began to influence the Israelites. They convinced themselves that the food back in Egypt was much better than the manna God was providing and even went as far as saying it was FREE! It came "AT NO COST!"

Upon hearing this the Lord's anger burned. Just think how absurd they sounded! That food wasn't free! It had cost them shackles on their hands and feet! It has cost them their babies being thrown to crocodiles and their very ability to reproduce and build families!

The thing about gluttony is that it convinces you that you're in control, when in reality you're out of control. You're not free, you're a slave! Benjamin Franklin once said, “Many a man thinks he is buying himself a pleasure when he is really selling himself to it.” This is why over and over the Bible equates gluttony with idolatry. Philippians 3 describes gluttons as being those whose stomach is their god.

Gluttony convinced the entire nation of Israel that being enslaved wasn’t so bad. We often justify indulgence by telling ourselves “you can’t have too much of a good thing” but too much of a good thing is not a good thing; it becomes a god thing.

If the enemy can’t convince you to reject God, he will convince you to make a god out of what’s good in your life. Egypt was a refuge and safety for the Israelites when they originally went there to escape a famine. Egypt saved them before it enslaved them. That's how our sin nature works. We are prone to idols and giving our lives to things that cannot fulfill us, sustain us, or truly save us.

CONCLUSION

Many years ago a fire broke out in a Chicago apartment building. The whole building was evacuated and when firefighters showed up, they found a woman hysterically yelling "MY BABY!" Her infant was still up in the apartment, lying in a crib. With every ounce of courage one of the Firemen ran into the burning building, made his way up 23 flights of stairs, crawled under the smoke line, busted into the room and grabbed the baby. Holding the infant in his coat he made his way back through the hallway, all the way down the stairs, and out the front door. Like a scene from a movie movie, behind him the building collapse under the flames and explosions.

The mother ran up to him sobbing as everyone cheered. He carefully pulled the baby out of his coat only to realize he was holding a baby doll. He had grabbed a doll instead of the real baby.

I know that’s a gut wrenching story. It made me sick to my stomach the first time I heard it, but here’s why I end with it today: I’m afraid that there are many people who will get to the end of their life, after working, sweating, and scraping only to realize they gave their life to a false god instead of the real one.

Friend this goes so much deeper than eating too much on a Saturday night. This is about asking yourself what has a grip on your heart? What a tragedy it would be to get to the end of your life only to realize you were put on the Earth to know the one true God and you never surrendered to Him because you settled for things that made you feel good for a moment but were unable to save you from your sin.

I don’t want that for you. Ask yourself today, is there ANY other god currently ruling over my heart? If so, it's time to go golden-cow tipping. Every high thing must come down. May God take His rightful place on the throne of your heart. Surrender to Him.