Enough Is Enough

The year was 2001. The city was Georgetown, KY. The restaurant was Skyline Chili. Skyline was new to Georgetown, and they wanted to drum up business. One of the ways they did this was by having an all-you-can-eat night. For $12 you could eat anything off the menu and keep ordering until the place shut down for the night. Most would simply see this as a great deal. As for myself and four other large gentlemen, we saw it as a challenge….. a challenge were willing to accept. 

From plates of 3-way chili to burritos, to coneys, and even a salad somewhere in there, we ate until we were in pain. At one point, one of the guys got up and took a few laps around the restaurant to make room for more food. By the time we were done, our $60 spent was actually around $225 worth of food. We ate so much that they put our picture on the wall with the amount of food that we ate. At the time, we were so proud of ourselves. Looking back, we were proud of our gluttony. The next day, every single one of us was sick to the stomach. What started out as funny and entertaining turned into misery. 

For years I have struggled with my weight. My biggest problem has always been my constant hunger for more. I can eat at a Brazilian steakhouse, knocking down 5lbs plus of meat, and be hungry an hour later. Instead of using my brain and saying no to that hunger, I would just eat more. Whether I like admitting it or not, this is sin. It’s one of the seven DEADLY sins. Gluttony is the inability to say no to your stomach. It’s almost like a form of worship of yourself. Whatever my carnal desire is, I get it because I deserve it. Over the last year, I’ve been learning to curb that desire. I’m beginning to abstain from food when the hunger pangs start. Honestly, as I’m typing this, I’m hungry and want food. However, I don’t need to be eating anymore at 9 pm.

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Philippians 3:18–19

This is a hard topic to talk about for many people because it hits home for so many of us. That includes me. It’s the sin we don’t like to mention that hurts too many feelings. Unfortunately, Paul uses some pretty strong language here when he talks about people whose “god is their belly.” This is an attribute of a person who is an enemy of the cross. Why is this such a big deal? Why would there be such strong language? Maybe we need to look at what a disciple looks like. What does a true Christ follower do? What are those attributes?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22–23

The fruit of the spirit is the outward showing of a life that has been transformed by the Holy Spirit and the grace of God. These attributes make up what we would consider a disciple of Christ. Think of these as the attributes of a piece of fruit. You have the skin, the stem, the core, the seeds, and the fleshy part of the fruit where all the flavor is. All of them are part of the same fruit, yet they are all vastly different from each other. However, if you take away any of these parts, it’s not the same fruit. In the same way, we should desire to practice every attribute of the fruit of the spirit. Will we fail at times? Sure. It should always be our desire, though, to live out all of them. 

What is the last of the attributes? Self-control. The problem with gluttony isn’t the act of eating too much. That’s not the root of the problem. It’s the inability to have self-control when it comes to your hunger. What is the result of this? Obesity. What you’re about to read was really hard for me to read as I was studying for this, but it needs to be shared. According to a Forbes Health report from January 10th of this year, four MILLION people die each year as a result of obesity. The worldwide obesity rate has doubled since 1980. Obesity is linked to 30% to 53% of new diabetes cases in the U.S. every year. Medical costs for people with obesity in the U.S. tend to be 30% to 40% higher than those for people without obesity. Our lack of self-control is quite literally killing us. I’m not saying that being fat is a sin. I’m fat. I’m saying that gluttony, or the lack of self-control over your stomach is genuinely deadly.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
 1 Corinthians 3:16–17

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Twice Paul talks about the body being a temple in 1 Corinthians. It’s a place where the Holy Spirit dwells. What kind of temple are we building? God has blessed us with something that still blows my mind with its efficiency, its ability to heal itself, and its resilience. If the human body doesn’t prove that there has to be a God, I’m not sure what else does. It is the most intricate of creations. Everything works within systems to keep your health running optimally. Each organ works to provide for the rest of the body. It isn’t an accident. But just like any other well-oiled machine, putting the wrong fuel in it, or overloading it with too much, causes malfunctions. One of the best ways to practice abstinence is through self-control. Our guidance should be through the Holy Spirit and not our stomach growling.

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:12–14

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Romans 6:5–7

We are not meant to be slaves to the flesh. We are meant to have ownership and control over our bodies. When we allow gluttony to run rampant in our lives, we are submitting ourselves to slavery. When we take on Christ and become true disciples of Him, we break the bonds of slavery and we tell our bodies, “Enough is enough.”