Gluttony Sermon Ideas
Gluttony is inordinate indulgence in or preoccupation with food or drink. At first, gluttony seems too banal to count as a deadly sin. And yet gluttony can become idolatrous, and this is a topic worth exploring in sermon.
What does the Bible say about gluttony?
Use these prefiltered searches to craft sermons and prayers, offer pastoral care, or plan worship services around the theme of gluttony.
- Deuteronomy 21:20, gluttony and rebellion
- Deuteronomy 32:15, gluttony and scoffing
- Amos 6:1–7, gluttony and lounging
- Philippians 3:19, gluttony brings shame
- Proverbs 23:20–21, don't join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat
- Proverbs 28:7, companions of gluttons bring shame to their parents
- Ephesians 5:18, don't get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery
- Romans 13:13, gluttony and drunkenness
- 1 Corinthians 5:11, gluttony and idolatry
- Galatians 5:21, gluttony and drunkenness
- 1 Timothy 3:2–3, an overseer must be self-controlled, not a drunkard or violent
Sermon ideas about gluttony
Blunting our hunger for God?
What can a sermon on gluttony say to listeners today? The Desert Fathers, who first numbered the deadly sins, included gluttony because they were convinced that various human appetites are linked. Gluttony seemed to them a part of Roman food orgies that included other debaucheries, and they were convinced that gluttony blunts the hunger and thirst for God. So they counseled us to savor food and drink just enough to nourish but not enough to sate.
Five gluttonous errors
Medievals distinguished five gluttonous errors: eating too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, and with too much fuss.
Wastefulness
Like avarice, gluttony is wasteful. In some countries, wastefulness is considered a national sin.
Addiction
Gluttony in food and drink may become addictive. Because addictions are progressive and subject to the tolerance effect, they easily become injurious, disabling, or even fatal. In addiction, people trap themselves by attempting to relieve distress with the very thing that caused it. That's the demonic feature of addiction.
Self-control and gratitude
The opposite of gluttony in Galatians 5:23 and 2 Peter 1:6 is self-control, which is probably a requirement for gratitude. The person who eats slowly and reflectively may preserve the joy of simple treats, such as a ripe apple on a crisp October day.
Antidotes to gluttony
For gluttony of excess: Try diminished calorie allowances and expanded eating times; avoid buffet restaurants, church pancake breakfasts, and pie-eating contests.
For gluttony of delicacy: Attend the places and events just listed; practice periodic fasting and prayer; consider attending twelve-step program meetings; buy only one new cookbook a year; prepare a humble meal once a week.