Gluttony!

Oh yes, today's post is about gluttony! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, food is more prevalent here in this country than ever before. There has not been a time of famine in decades. Since I was in high school, there have been "All you can eat buffets". How many of you ever ate at them? How many of you still do? Even portion sizes at restaurants have gotten huge! Are you cleaning your plate? Are you eating those portions at home as well?

The Scripture and Lexion below is taken from Crosswalk Bible Study Tools.

Here are some scriptures that refers to gluttony:

• Deuteronomy 21:20 KJV

  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious , he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton , and a drunkard .

• Deuteronomy 21:20 KJVA

  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious , he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton , and a drunkard .

• Deuteronomy 21:20 NAS

  "They shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.'

• Proverbs 23:21 KJV

  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty : and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

• Proverbs 23:21 KJVA

  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty : and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

• Proverbs 23:21 NAS

  For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

Hummmmm..... Now I am not saying we are gluttons. I could easily become one. (And I might be one in other areas of my life. I might need to examine that.) But our bodies are made for grazing and periods of feast & famine. Did you notice how gluttony was paired with a drinker and a stubborn or disobedient person? I looked up the Hebrew word for "drowsiness" (Prov 23:21) It means ~ drowsiness, somnolence, indolence. (Sleepy & Lazy! Not good! When I eat too much, I get really sleepy and do not want to do anything. So there must be something to that.)

Here is more from Proverbs 23

• 1.When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,

• 2.and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

• 3.Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. (Remember CS Lewis "The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe"? Poor Peter wanted all those Turkish Delights the wicked White Witch was giving him.... Lewis really had this chapter in mind when he wrote that section.)
  

• 4.Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

• 5.Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

• 6.Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies;

• 7.for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

• 8.You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments. (I would say Peter wasted his compliments to the White witch in the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe")
  

I am not going to go Precept here. It would take days. Instead, let us apply it to us~Be careful who we dine with and what we dine on. (Just as we need to be careful as to who we go in business with, or get married to, etc.) And gluttony is not just on food. It can lie anywhere in our lives.

BTW~Veering a tad off topic~did you know that gout is a rich man's disease? Or at least used to be. At one time, only the wealthy could afford the rich foods that, eaten on a consistent basis, cause gout and liver disease. Now, in the US, gout is very common, even amongst the low income and poor.

If you have fallen to the sin of gluttony, confess it and ask God's forgiveness. He loves you and wants you healthy and well. If you have the sin of gluttony in your life (and it does not have to be food, it can be anything that is excessive ~ even blogging! ~ YIKES!!! ~ Did I step on some toes there? I did mine!) Confess it, ask for forgiveness and move on.

Tip for Today:
When you dine out, share a meal. DH and I always share a meal together. If I happen to go out with friends and no one wants to share a meal, I only eat 1/2 of the meal and take the rest home to eat at a later meal. Restaurants serve entirely too much food on the plates, etc. Stay away from all you can eat buffets. The mentality is 'eat enough to get your money's worth...' You will way over eat in those places.

Have a blessed day everyone!
Love,
Melissa