Gluttony: It's Not Just About Food

Yes, the dictionary definition of gluttony is about eating too much and eating greedily. Yet, gluttony is from a family of words rooted in the idea of overindulgence.

The word glut might be used to describe a situation in which the market is flooded with a certain product. Glutton might be used figuratively to describe a person with a great capacity for something (e.g., a glutton for punishment).

We know that our physical bodies have cravings. We crave food and call it hunger. It is natural. In fact, hunger pangs are the body’s natural signal that food is needed. Of course, hunger pangs can be the result of habit, not actual need. So, what happens when the craving for food is not from hunger pangs?

To address that question is to cross from the idea of satisfying physical hunger to gluttony. Gluttony is more of a craving of the mind, not the body. It is the desire for more food even though food is not necessary. The glutton snatches food...because it’s there. The glutton has an unnatural desire for more, more, more.

Think about the way humans were created, and think about our natural cravings. It is natural to crave attention, yet it can be carried to an extreme. For example, think of an adult who must be the center of attention when others are around, or a child who misbehaves just to get attention, even if the attention is discipline. When such a craving is excessive, it might be called gluttony for attention.

Some people overindulge in the area of buying. They don’t really need the things they buy; they simply have an uncontrollable urge (desire) to buy things, a glutton for buying (or spending).

Just about any activity could become an area of overindulgence: sports, entertainment, leisure activities (or inactivity), work, sex, etc. The idea is that you have a craving for something. Yet after satisfying it, you continue to crave. There is almost no end to your craving. It is no longer a natural craving but a craving driven by the desires of the mind and heart.

Gluttons are takers, not givers. They take because it is there to take, not because of need. Gluttons impulsively snatch without giving thought to their actions or giving thought to the needs of others. A glutton cries out, “Indulge me!” It is driven by the attitude of satisfaction.

I have seen fat gluttons and skinny gluttons. Gluttony is not a physical issue but a sin of the heart. It is a form of selfishness and the opposite of self-discipline.

Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. 

—Proverbs 23:6–7 (NASB95)

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 

—Ephesians 4:28 (NASB95)

When a person is consumed by the cravings of the body, mind or heart, he/she is being led by the flesh. Do you know the solution?

For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

—Romans 8:13 (NASB95)

If you are a glutton for food or entertainment or success or sex, the answer is not strength of will. You CANNOT do it alone, but if by the Spirit…. 

The solution begins in humble prayer.

Mark Stinnett

March 14, 2021