A couple weeks ago, I posted an article entitled “The Sin We Never Name,” which addresses sloth. A reader emailed me, “excellent and AMEN! Have you prepared a pt. 2 for this message…gluttony?”
Actually, I wrote an entire chapter on this in my book Every Body Matters 16 years ago, entitled, “Is Being Overweight a Sin?” At the time I wrote that chapter, I was running two marathons a year, and qualifying for the Boston marathon three years running. Due to this reader’s response, I went back and read that chapter, knowing that, by BMI standards, I’m now overweight. So if this makes you angry, just know I’m reading it with you. I weigh the Biblical discussions (which aren’t that many) with the classical Christian writings (which are legion) to discuss an issue we just don’t discuss very much. I haven’t changed a word due to my “new” condition. I taught, even back then, that it is monstrous to connect our acceptance with God with a number on a scale, or even to make that “number” the primary indicator of spiritual obedience. I’ve also been tempted, as many have, with the new GLP-1 medications which I feel certain (because I’ve talked to friends who have used them) would put me back “under” an overweight designation. But many of you know Lisa, and her earnest healthy/organic research and passion, and from our own research (we’re not doctors or trained nutritionists so don’t listen to us for medical advice) we believe I need to stick with lifting weights and (following a knee surgery) upping my activity levels, as well as trying to win a lifelong battle against sugar cravings. So this is an exercise of conviction to post something I wrote 16 years ago, in a different stage of life. I still think it’s true, and I’m glad I believe I was relatively measured and fair-minded as I wrote it, even while being in marathon condition. The recent reader’s response was fair–we don’t address this as often as we do other struggles. Though the Bible doesn’t say a lot about it (there’s a cultural reason for that that I address in the chapter), the classics certainly do, and I’m all for listening to wise people remind me of areas I may have grown negligent in.
If you’d like to read the entire book, see more information: Every Body Matters.
The Other Sin We Never Name
The approximate value of a single M&M is less than a penny. The approximate value of a three-year-old Honda CRV is about $20,000.
I came this close to one of the most foolish misplaced priorities in my life.
In order to set the stage, I confess that I have the taste buds of a seven-year-old boy. You might think in my forties I would have lost my sweet tooth, but in reality few things make me as happy as a box of Hot Tamales or a bag of M&Ms.
On one occasion, I was driving on the freeway, popping some M&Ms in my mouth when one slipped away and fell onto the floorboard. I all but forgot I was driving in my frantic determination to get that penny piece of candy back into my hand.
Have you ever swerved while driving only to realize just how stupidly you’re acting? I was literally risking not just $20,000 worth of machinery but my own life (and perhaps someone else’s), all for a tiny dot of sugar-coated chocolate.
Whether or not this episode constituted a “sin,” it was extremely foolish and even reckless. It certainly wasn’t wise.
In the same vein, I believe it is most helpful to use the language of “wisdom” and “stewardship” when talking about care of the body. But I know some readers are thinking, “Man up, Gary, and answer the question: Is being overweight a sin?”
To answer the question of whether being overweight is a sin, we have to look at the Biblical evidence. From the ancients’ (the Christian classics) numerous denunciations of gluttony, I assumed I could pick from among two or three dozen verses that scathingly and clearly denounce gluttony or excessive and indulgent eating. In reality, the Bible doesn’t say a lot about gluttony. There are a few direct references and several indirect ones, but not as many as I expected to find.
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