Gluttony. Glutton" (from glut, to swallow greedily) is the translation of zolel from zalal, "to shake or pour out," "to be lavish, a squanderer.

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1 World Christian Fellowship 60, High Worple, Rayners Lane, Harrow Middlesex, HA2 9SZ, United Kingdom Tel: Gluttony Glutton" (from glut, to swallow greedily) is the translation of zolel from zalal, "to shake or pour out," "to be lavish, a squanderer." Meaning for us to understand it is over- indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth to the point of extravagance or waste. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, For USA. More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese. More than 1 in 3 adults are considered to be obese. More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity. About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese. 1

2 More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese. In United Kingdom In 2014, 58% of women and 65% of men were overweight or obese. Obesity prevalence has increased from 15% in 1993 to 26% in More than 1 in 5 children in Reception, and 1 in 3 children in Year 6 were measured as obese or overweight. Children in most deprived areas are twice as likely to be obese than children in least deprived areas. Consumption of sugar and food The average person consumed approximately 4.9 grams each day (1.2 Kg of sugar each year) around The average person consumed approximately 22.4 grams each day (8.2 Kgs of sugar each year) around

3 The average person consumed approximately 112 grams each day, (40 Kgs of sugar each year) around percent of Westerners consumed approximately 227 grams of sugar each day around 2009 equating 81 Kgs each year. Gluttony is a sin. Proverbs 23:20-21, Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. Proverbs 28:7, Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, But a companion of gluttons shames his father. There are two things about this sin. 1. It s like making your stomach a god that you need to feed and continually satisfy and also it brings one to poverty because consuming all one can focuses all of their expenditures on themselves and not on helping others. 2. Thus making them as a bad steward of what they have been entrusted to by God. 3

4 Gluttony is a sin. Deuteronomy 21:20-21, And they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. Proverbs 25:16,(MSG) When you re given a box of candy, don t gulp it all down; eat too much chocolate and you ll make yourself sick; Philippians 3:19, whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things. Galatians 5:24, And those who are Christ s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires Psalms 78:18, And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. Titus 1:12, One of them, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Even Jesus was accused of as a glutton. Mathew 11:19, The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look, a glutton and a 4

5 winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! But wisdom is justified by her children. What does the glutton done to you? 1. Desire for the food only caused the original sin to come to the world. Genesis 3:6, So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Romans 5:12, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned 2. Gluttony is an attribute of a fool Proverbs 30:22, For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food, Luke 12:19-20, And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? 5

6 Psalms 53:1, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good 3. Gluttony is an attribute of an evil servant Matthew 24:48-51, But if that evil servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Luke 12:45-46, But if that servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 4. Gluttons can never satisfy their wants Job 27:13-14, This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty: 14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the 6

7 sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Proverbs 13:25, The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want. Ecclesiastes 6:7, All the labour of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied. Hosea 4:10, For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the Lord. 5. God hates gluttons Genesis 25:29-34, Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary. Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, Sell me your birth right as of this day. 32 And Esau said, Look, I am about to die; so what is this birth right to me? 33 Then Jacob said, Swear to me as of this day. So he swore to him, and sold his birth right to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birth right. Romans 9:13, As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. 7

8 God loves the wicked enough to send Jesus to die for their sins (John 3:16; 15:13; Romans 5:8), but he hates sinners who refuse to repent (Psalm 5:5; Jeremiah 12:8; Hosea 5:9; Malachi 1:3) Overcoming the sin of Gluttony 1. Treat this as a sin Until unless you accept that gluttony as a sin you will not be delivered from this sin. Jesus did not come to deliver you from your mistakes but from your sins. Matthew 1:21 says that He will save his people from sins 2. Laziness & Wasteful Titus 1:12, One of them, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Proverbs 23:20-21, Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11, & 14, For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 8

9 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Luke 15:13, And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 3. Lack of Self control 2 Peter 2:19, While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 1 Corinthians 6:12, All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Proverbs 25:16, Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit. 1 Timothy 6:8, And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 4. Poor stewardship 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For 9

10 you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body [c] and in your spirit, which are God s. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 5. Misplaced devotion Philippians 3:18-19, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things. Romans 16: 17-18, Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 1 Corinthians 6:13, Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and 10

11 them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 6. Moderation 1 Timothy 6:8, And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Philippians 4:5, Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 7. Like Jesus Christ Jesus attitude to food is revealed clearly by these scriptures. Jesus fasted forty days and nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2; Luke 4:2), and afterwards refused to turn stones into bread when he was hungry (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). Luke 4:1-4, Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into [a] the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 11

12 His priority was to do the will of God, which was his true food. He knew that his Father would not let Him die of hunger. John 4: 34, Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Even though He refused to turn stones into bread in the wilderness, the angels were afterwards sent to minister to him (Matthew 4:11). If only we could adopt this same attitude toward food, the devil would never be able to draw us into sin by tempting us with it. Practical help: 1. Eat only when you are hungry 2. Eat to live but don t live to eat. 3. Serve only one time, don t take second help. As we Tamils we love to eat variety of food like sambhar, Rasam, Curd etc. then desert. 4. Avoid going to buffet 5. When you go to a function little bit so that you are not going to eat lot of quantities and suffer. 6. Spend less time thinking about food. 12