Is being fat a sin? Is being fat considered a sin? What about being obese? What does the bible say about being gluttonous? Find out here by clicking the image above or the video below. Be blessed!
Is being fat a sin?
Is being obese a sin?
Is being a glutton a sin?
What is the definition of a glutton?
“A person who eats or drinks excessively.”
What is excessive?
Excessive means eating or drinking more than necessary or what our body needs.
Just putting this in different wording so everyone can understand it clearly. A person who is not able to control themselves or in other words are addicted. Can’t live without.
An easy way to test if you are addicted to food is to try to fast on water alone for at least 7 days.
If you are having cravings and uncontrollable passion for food or sugar it means you are addicted. The body doesn’t need food that much. Can easily survive without food for 40 days.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is now the number one health threat facing Americans
A new study recently published by Purdue University Professor Ken Ferraro examined the relationships between religion and both body mass index (BMI) and obesity. The study found that church members tend to be more overweight than the general population.
The Bible condemns overindulgence in many things, including food.
Proverbs 23:20-21 says:
“20 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.”
The church is generally quick to point to the numerous instances in scripture where our bodies are described as a temple; those passages are convenient when we want to address illegal drugs, smoking, gambling, and alcohol abuse. But rarely, if ever, do we address the sin of overeating, because of lack of self-control.
When used properly, food should satisfy our bodies’ needs. The problem is when we overindulge with no sensitivity to hunger.
When we look to food to comfort us, soothe our emotions, solve our problems, or make us happy, we are placing food before God. Using food to satisfy our spiritual needs is a sin.
Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own
(1 Corinthians 6:19)
Obesity rates are rising rapidly, so do rates of diseases associated with obesity.
There are more obese US adults than those who are just overweight. According to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in 2008, the obesity rate among adult Americans was estimated at 32.2% for men and 35.5% for women; these rates were roughly confirmed by the CDC again for 2009–2010.
In a press release by the CDC, director Jeffrey P. Koplan said, “Overweight and physical inactivity account for more than three hundred thousand premature deaths each year in the U.S., second only to tobacco-related deaths. Obesity is an epidemic and should be taken as seriously as any infectious disease epidemic. Obesity and overweight are linked to the nation’s number one killer — heart disease — as well as diabetes and other chronic conditions.”
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 NKJV
Overweight and obese people are at increased risk for developing conditions like coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, asthma, and other breathing problems, cancer, and even death.
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Not only is obesity poor stewardship of the body, but it’s also poor financial stewardship.
The estimated annual costs associated with overweight and obesity in the U.S. are just under $123 billion.
(About $64 billion in direct health care costs for preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services. Plus almost $59 billion for indirect costs such as loss of wages by people who are unable to work and the value of future earnings lost because of premature death.)
Overeating Indicates Walking in the Flesh Rather Than the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).
A Disciplined Life Honors God
Daniel is a great example of a person who demonstrated discipline when it came to eating. King Nebuchadnezzar brought Daniel and several other young men to him: The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank (Daniel 1:5).
However, Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank (v. 8).
Daniel requested the king to test him with those who are eating the king’s food. (v. 13-14).
At the end of 10 days, they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.
So the guard continued to give them vegetables.
God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind (v. 15-17).
Daniel and his friends showed the wisdom of eating properly by including fresh vegetables in their diets instead of overindulging on the king’s rich foods.
They also demonstrated that by placing the correct emphasis on food as a tool to nourish our physical bodies instead of yielding to our lust for food, we are healthier and better able to follow God’s call.
So is gluttony or overeating a sin? Gluttony means to eat too much (excessive) .. so gorging on food could, indeed, be considered sinful, but the state of being overweight might not be due
to overeating, so it would be misleading and unkind to declare it a sin to be overweight.
If I had to summarize it: overeating is considered a sin and can lead us to become overweight, but being overweight is not, in and of itself, a sin.
Quoting Gary Thomas: “So I go to war against gluttony and indulgence not because I want God to love me more, but because God, who already loves me perfectly, warns me that gluttony and excess are my enemies—regardless of how good they may sometimes feel. I go to war against gluttony not to build a body that others admire, but to maintain a soul “prepared for every good work” that God can use to bless others.
I go to war against gluttony because those who have walked closely with God—from the early fourth century all the way through the nineteenth— warn me that overeating dulls me to God’s accepting presence, makes me more vulnerable to other sins, negatively affects my relationships
with other people, and robs me of the joy rightfully mine as an adopted, deeply loved,
and accepted child of God.”
Hope this was helpful.
For comments, questions or suggestions please contact me. Love to hear from you.
God bless!!
To view the notes for this message, please click the link: Is Being Fat a Sin notes in pdf
