Last week, I implored Christians to recognize our own sins before calling out the sins of others. If we can’t recognize our own faults, we are the worst kind of hypocrites when we subsequently demand that others be held accountable for their wrongdoings.
Taking my own words to heart, I am once again confronted with the realization that I am a glutton: I eat too much, and as a result, I am vastly overweight. I don’t mean to merely suggest that I should lose a few pounds (I most certainly should) or that I need to get in better shape (I can always improve on that front, although I feel pretty good about my fitness level, especially since I still must pass an Army Combat Fitness Test every year!). What I do mean is that I (daily) commit the sin of gluttony.
This sin of gluttony is one that I have long recognized but seldom confessed. In the past, I have acknowledged that I am overweight (not difficult to do when I look at myself in the mirror or see a picture of myself) and made half-hearted gestures at needing to lose several unnecessary pounds. But I don’t know that I have ever truly confessed that my incessant overeating isn’t just a discipline I need to change but a sin that I need to stop committing.
Yes, gluttony is a sin. In its simplest sense, gluttony is a sin because the act of overeating is succumbing to greed: our selfish desire to keep filling our mouths with things that satisfy a momentary desire for something our mind and/or our belly falsely tells us we need. But our Creator gives us our bodies and ought to be treated as such. To treat our bodies with indifference and sloppiness is to feign respect to the One who made us.
And this is precisely what I have done. I eat what I want when I want – all the time. There is obviously some self-control (otherwise, I’d be morbidly obese), but not nearly enough. By every metric, I consume way more food than I should. There is no denying this fact. I lack self-control. I lack discipline. I am, in every way, a glutton. And I am, as I’ve noted on this site twice before, fat.
My sin of gluttony is not only an offense against God but against those who love me. The excess weight I refuse to lose, due entirely to my overeating, puts my health at risk and consequently, my ability to provide for my family. My sin of gluttony communicates to those entrusted to my spiritual care that my lack of self-control in eating is a problem I refuse to do anything about. It’s as though I say to my parish and school every day: “Hi, I’m Pastor Glover, and I clearly give in to my passion for eating with little care for what it’s doing to the body given to me by God.”
I want to be clear: the words that I have written are directed only to me. This is my sin, and it is entirely my own doing. I acknowledge what this behavior has made me. And I am sorry that I have spent years not doing anything about it. I
May God forgive me and give me the strength to resist this sin in the future as I seek to treat my body in a way that pleases Him.
