The Lunar New Year is filled with fun and food with family and friends. This is when I am reminded of some thoughts regarding gluttony. If there was title to this it would be “The Sin We Graze Over.”
Some time ago I read an article where the writer pointed out the sin that church people commit wholeheartedly. Gluttony. Somehow we do not place it in the same category as murder, sexual immorality, adultery, etc. Those who sin in these do so in secret. But when it comes to gluttony, we do so openly, and we may even boast about it.
In affluent Singapore, where food is affordable, and especially fine dining, eating is an important part of our culture. We promote it, as well as indulge in it. Certainly we all need to eat, and eat well. At what point then do we eat into gluttony?
It all begins in the stomach. The Greek word translated “glutton” in English literally means “belly.” Gluttony has several regular bed-mates; drunkenness is one. Stubbornness and rebelliousness keep them company (Deuteronomy 21:20). It is more than just about over-eating. It is a lifestyle of excessiveness, or loose-living, like what the prodigal son did when he left his father’s house.
Good church going people will never see themselves in the same class as the prodigal son. However, they may be just as, if not more, indulgent. Perhaps it is even more so in our culture, where hosting a meal is unsatisfactory until the guest’s stomach is full. This lifestyle descends into further excessiveness when a lot of uneaten food is wasted and thrown away.
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