Gluttony (and why I think it's a sin)

When I was young everything was black and white. A person was good or bad. An issue was right or wrong. As I've grown older I still see things this way but tend to keep my opinions to myself unless I know the person I am talking to is like-minded. I don't want people to not like me because my opinion is different than theirs. I don't want to hurt their feelings. And, I don't feel that arguing with that person about said belief is going to change how they feel. Now I will be honest, there are a few issues that don't apply. Healthy living is one of them. I will tell just about anybody that I think fast food is evil, sugar is bad for you, and gluttony is sin. Whoops! That last one just slipped out.

Did I say gluttony is sin? And what is sin anyway? Isn't that some old fashioned word that Bible thumping fundamentalists use? Sinners go to hell, right? So it would be really wrong of me to get on my blog and say gluttony is sin and sinners go to hell. Wow. I am a crazed fundamentalist if I ever met one.

Gluttony: excess in eating or drinking, greedy or excessive indulgence.

Sin: an offense against moral law, an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible, an often serious shortcoming

The thing is, when I was fat(okay, morbidly obese) I didn't want to admit that I thought gluttony was sin because I didn't want to admit my failure in the area of food. After all, good Christians NEVER sin. So I gave a lot of excuses about why I was fat(everyone in my family is fat) why it's so hard to lose weight(I mean, you have to like, eat less pizza). But talk about overeating as sin? NO WAY! But I had this overarching guilt that hung around my neck like a noose. I had condemned myself, sure, but I wasn't going to walk around telling everyone how I felt. I felt bad enough already. But that doesn't change the fact that deep down inside I felt incredibly guilty. But why?

Lot's of people are overweight and don't feel an ounce of guilt. Why me? Well, I'm going to step out on a limb and say it's because I am a follower of Christ. I read the Bible a lot because I think it's awesome. To each his own, right? And one of the Ten Commandments says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and food had become my god. I worshipped it. I turned to food for comfort. I turned to food to fill the empty holes in my heart. I turned to food because I loved it more than I loved God. How can I be a Christian and say that? Well, it's because it's true, AND Christians are sinners.

What? Christians are sinners? I thought they were all perfect and holier than thou and stuff. Well, not really. In fact, not at all.

But the really great thing about being a Christian is I believe when I sin I am forgiven by the very Jesus I follow. That is what makes being a Christian just about the most wonderful thing ever. I sin, He forgives me. It's liberating as all get out. The problem is, once we realize we're sinning, we're supposed to at least try to stop. There's this passage in the Bible(Romans 6) that talks about grace and how just because we are forgiven for sinning, we're not supposed to keep on at it(sinning). For years I struggled with this passage as it related to food because I felt so completely enslaved by my desire to it. And the thing is, it really broke my heart. I felt like a really crappy Christian.

So when I began my journey to better health(I wanted to lose weight) I asked God to teach me discipline. I was weak and I wanted to be strong. How does one do that? Well, they just do it by taking little baby steps until they get stronger. The most awesome thing is that God walked with me the whole time. He saw my desire to change. I knew he saw my heart, that I was putting food before him, and gave me the strength to start saying no to food and yes to a deeper relationship with Him.

When I made the conscious decision to make God more important than food my life was completely transformed. He gave me the strength to say no to the most important thing in my life. For this and many other reasons, I love Him.

I started this blog to inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle but I think I would be remiss to omit the very reason I wanted to change. So I'm throwing this out there.... yes, I believe gluttony is sin, and yes, I'm a sinner(and still a follower of Jesus). But the best news of all, and what really inspires me, is that Jesus loves me anyway. That's what the good news of the gospel is really all about. Forgiveness of sins, relationship with the creator of the universe. I know how flawed I am and so does God. But(and this is the best but of all) He loves me anyway. If that isn't inspirational, I don't know what is.