God’s Word on GluttonySample

Honor God in all you do

When I studied the Bible’s seven passages on gluttony, I was confronted and comforted. The confrontation happened when I realized that too much food leads to too little love, that overdoing the pleasure of a heaping portion undermines the purpose of fueling up to serve my neighbor.

But the comfort was in how close Jesus got to people like me. In accusing Jesus of sin, his enemies claimed, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). The first part was a lie, of course, since Jesus lived a sinless life of perfect self-control. He ate but never was a glutton. He drank but never was a drunkard. The second part, however, was gloriously true. Jesus was the friend of sinners. He didn’t keep his distance from drunks and gluttons, from tax collectors and sinners. Instead, he drew near to them, loved them, called them to repentance, and offered them forgiveness.

Jesus does the same for you and me. Instead of staying far from us, Jesus drew near, leaving heaven and coming to our Earth. His Word confronts our infatuation with short-term, sinful pleasure. His death on a cross is the answer for our drunkenness and gluttony, for our sins of the mind and of the mouth. His resurrection is the proof that our debt has been paid, and he is eternally alive and well to help us in our time of need.

Nothing makes us want to honor God in all we do, including eating our next meal, quite like the love of Jesus!

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