Thursday, May 29, 2008

Sin on a Bun


I am working on a couple of posts right now but I came across this post by Joe Carter today that deserves a few minutes perusal and reflection. He blogs on the forgotten vice of gluttony. Check this quote to whet your appetite (pun intended).

Gluttony was once listed among the seven deadly sins. But now it's considered, when it's thought about at all, as a private health matter. We may realize that overeating has led to weight gain, a change in appearance, or diminished health. But we never recognize it as a spiritual problem.

Oddly enough, with the exception of those related to sex, American Christians tend to take an antinomian view of "physical sins." We act as if corrupting our bodies will have no impact on our souls. Such an un-Biblical view, however, must be rejected by anyone who acknowledges that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

9 comments:

Karma Shuford said...

See, now you've gone from preachin' to meddlin'.

haha.

I wonder if church potlucks are part of the reason gluttony is ignored.

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh!

A couple of years ago I preached a sermon on gluttony (part of a seven-deadly series) and used that same picture as part of my power-point introduction.

It's amazing what we will overlook on this topic.

Tony said...

Karma,

I'm a preacher; its my job to meddle in everyone else's business. Just don't go poking your nose into mine. :)

Cameron,

Heh. I wonder how that message was received. How many potlucks did the church forgo after that sermon?

Anonymous said...

If that picture is sin, send me to hell in a handbasket now!!
*drool*

:)

Tony said...

Well, the picture itself isn't sin...but if you overindulge in one of those babies, it might be.

Joe (Carter) noted this about the Monster Thickburger from Hardees, though those things are some kind of good...the burger contains an artery-clogging 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat. When combined in a "combo meal" with large fries and a medium drink, the total tips the scales at 2,285 calories. Such a meal would comprise 77% of the daily caloric intake for the average male (175 lbs., moderately active) and 99% for the average female (150 lb, moderately active).

But yeah, I agree, I'm wiping the saliva off the corners of my mouth just looking at it. (Heh.)

Seriously, I do think gluttony is a problem, not just personally, but on the whole in church life and to a greater degree in America, where overindulgence, not just on food, is a way of life. We eat simply because we can.

Many of us would probably be better of following a simple dictum, "Eat to live, don't live to eat."

CB Scott said...

Tony,

When you post on this sin (and it is a sin) please be aware that the sin of gluttony involves more than eating.

Otherwise, someone will tear your post apart.

You may have already done that so forgive me for butting in.

cb

Tony said...

CB,

Humbly and respectfully, I am going to ask you to leave your bravado at home when you comment on my blog. If you had read the comment string before you commented you would have seen I had already spoke toward that issue with JoeG. Plus, this post was a caption of a post from another blogger, not a comprehensive treatment of the issue, which I made clear.

Moreover, the only reason you are here is because I censured you at sbc Impact. You have no sincere desire to dialogue with me about this subject or any other.

Good day.

Anonymous said...

Snippy!
I think someone needs a Happy Meal. :)

Tony said...

Joe,

Long story...and yeah, I could use a Happy Meal.