An Acceptable Sin?

There seems to be a sin here in our American churches that we tend to overlook or just wink at. It is the sin of gluttony. I am all too familiar with this sin. You know what...that is putting it way too mildly. I am guilty of being a glutton and deal with this sin every single day of my life. Let's just call it what it is. God calls it sin. In our society, we tend to look upon it as needing to cut back or needing to go on a diet, or just saying it's the need to get off the couch. As true as that is, it's only half of the story. It's leaving out the most important part. The sin side of it. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life. And that is exactly how I have looked at the problem until the last couple of years. But God has been bringing me around to another way of looking at it. His way. If I walked around all the time, every day of my life with a beer can in my hand and drinking from it constantly, you would conclude that I was a drunkard. Now, since I walk around with a lot of excess weight, why wouldn't it be said that I am a glutton? Yes I know, not every single person who is overweight is a glutton. There are people who have thyroid and glandular problems that result in a lot of weight gain. I have a thyroid problem and if I didn't take my medicine daily it would eventually result in my death. But my levels are checked and kept right so there is no excuse for my fat other than the fact that I abuse food. And God has confirmed to me that I am in sin. So why then don't I deal with it as such? Why am I always and forever trying to diet and looking at it in those terms only? Do I care enough that I am sinning against a holy God or do I care more about how I look and feel? Read 1 Cor. 6:15, 19-20. If we are children of God, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Read Romans 12:1, Titus 1:12. Now read what the bible says about gluttons in Proverbs 23:21 and 28:7. Gluttony is no less a sin than any other sin in the eyes of God. God never winks at sin. He never pats us on the back and tells us it's ok. I could argue with God that it is because of my feelings from childhood and plead that I'm just messed up from my mother being too overbearing where food was concerned. Ok, let's take that messed up childhood argument. There's a man who committed the horrible rape and murder of a young girl. He said that it was because of his childhood. What would be our reaction to that? What is God's reaction? That is a horrible sin. But remember that sin is sin. My being a glutton is sin. But I make it about wanting to "loose weight". And I can't even tell you how many times I have whined about not being able to fit into my one and only pair of jeans. I do though. I get so upset because I would really like to wear them. I don't even think about the fact that I can't fit into them because I have been sinning by stuffing my face to make myself feel better about life's hardships or whatever. Food is my security blanket and my weight has, for most of my adult life, been my wall of protection. But I can't even imagine how it must grieve the heart of God when I whine about the effects of my gluttony instead of being grieved that I have sinned against a holy God. Where's my grief and repentance over the sin that caused the weight gain? Think of it this way. I'll give you two examples. When I was in the midst of my video poker gambling addiction, I spent every single penny I had and even money that I didn't have by getting more credit cards, each and every week. It was such a horrible sin on so many different levels. (God may lead me to talk about it at some point.) What if during one of those weeks that I gambled $2,000.00 on Friday, I then turned around on Monday and whined to God that I didn't have gas or food money? How would that make God feel? I don't acknowledge and repent of the sin, I only whine about the results. What if you were my close friend and were aware of everything and listened to me whine about it. How would you feel about my being that way and sinning so greatly against God? Now what if I drank and after a couple of drinks I got behind the wheel and totaled my car, then complained that I didn't have a vehicle to get to work? You would think I was a sinful nut. So why should my sin of gluttony be any different? The Holy Spirit checks me. He is faithful and always checks me when I am getting ready to say the blessing for some food I am about to eat that crosses the line over to gluttony. Maybe I've already had a big dinner and later had dessert. A little while later I decide I want some popcorn and then a little later I want to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I can't even breath the first words of my blessing prayer before the Holy Spirit is checking me. It would be like heading down to the casino and asking God to bless my trip. But I ask for blessing when I know that am in the middle of the sin of gluttony. And I am also guilty of grieving the heart of God by spending so much time worrying about whether or not I can fit into my clothes. And instead of asking God to forgive me when I wake up the next morning after a late night of stuffing my face, all I think about is the fact that I put on two pounds overnight. What about you? Do you turn a blind eye to the possibility of being guilty of the sin of gluttony? Do you, instead of repenting to God, make light of it when talking to your friends? Do you talk about willpower instead of forgiveness? Do you discuss an exercise plan instead of pleading at the throneroom of grace and mercy for God to help you deal with gluttony? Have you thought about asking God to show you if you have this sin in your life? Not every weight problem is gluttony but much of it is. Eating right and exercising is great but we first need to deal with the sin. We make so light of this sin in our church culture. It's never talked about. I attend a large church with plenty of women. Maybe it has been mentioned but I have never once heard a conversation about it. Oh, I've heard my share of conversations about weight, but never about the sin that has caused the weight problem for some. I have never once heard of someone asking for prayer in dealing with the sin of gluttony. We know that here in America, overweight is an epidemic. But we should be looking at what God calls it, if we call ourselves Christians. I would be so completely ashamed if God ever blessed me with getting to go on the mission field to a country so poor that they have nothing to their names and have no food or clean water and yet still praise the name of Jehovah God. I can't even imagine how ashamed I would be to come alongside them with all my obvious sin of gluttony and all of my "too-much-ness". Instead of me praying for them for God to help their circumstances, they would probably be crying out to God to forgive me of my sin.
God has made it so clear to me that I can stay on the useless track that I've been on for most of my life and just keep trying every kind of diet, or I can continually confess my sin of gluttony and plead for His grace and mercy to change me. I tell Jesus that if He doesn't change me, I won't be changed. That's very true. Then I resort back to trying to do things my way. It's a sad, frustrating place to be. Are you there too. Tell Jesus about it. Ask Him to show you if you have this sin in your life. And then plead with Him to help you. I think about the time when I will finally turn it over to Him completely. He will help me and then He will get all the glory, as He should. But we have to start with calling it what it is, sin. And we can tell Jesus that we know He has all power. He is willing to help if we will only turn it over to Him.