Bacon, Eggs and God

Gluttony

I happen to catch a segment of a recent TV series.

The scene was a pastor driving with a another man in the car.

The pastor lights up a cigarette:

Pastor: Smoke bother you?

Passenger: No, it’s great. Adds to all the wonderful smells in this car.

Pastor: Hey, I’m thinking about trying these… electric cigarettes. You know, the ones all the kids are using? They got all kinds of flavors. Mango. Mmm. Peanut brittle. Hell, they even got a pina colada. Call me old fashioned, but I think our vices should leave a rotten taste in our mouths. Helps keep us honest. It’s what God invented the hangover for.

Let’s skip past the obvious here. Yes, cigarettes leave a rotten taste in your mouth and so does vomit. Anyone who has drank to excess and ended up hugging the porcelain throne in the bathroom knows this all too well.

It is always easier to quit those things that leave a rotten taste in our mouths, but what about those things that leave a sweet taste?

That is why in my 57 years as a Christian I have never heard the first message about the sin of gluttony. “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”

Food leaves a pleasant taste in our mouths, so it makes it more difficult to avoid the sin of gluttony. Most likely, that is why you don’t hear preaching on gluttony, but if you ever do hear a message about gluttony it will be probably be preached by someone who very thin or someone who has recently lost a large amount weight.

It is like the deacon who smoked for years and suddenly quit. Shazam! Now he starts speaking about the evils of smoking. That is human nature. I am glad he quit smoking, but what is often lacking is grace. We must never forget that others around us are struggling with a plethora of issues.

So if you gain victory over a vice, let others come to you privately and ask how you gained the victory. Don’t browbeat others with your success.