Do you know what Sodom’s sins were? You probably just thought about a particular sexual sin.
While that is true, it is not the complete story. In the Bible, you learn that Sodom also had a gluttony problem!
In the following article, you will learn why it is critical that Christians confront the gluttony stronghold and what to do about it.
In this article, we will cover:
Why Gluttony is a Sin
The prophet Ezekiel said of Sodom:
Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit (Ezekiel 16:49-50)."
Did you notice that pride was listed first, with food indulgence second?
Here was that list again:
- Pride
- Fullness of food
- Abundance of idleness
- Not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy
- Haughtiness (arrogance, contempt for others)
- Committed abomination before God (ah, now there's the sexual sin you were probably thinking about!)
You might ask, "What is wrong with being full of food?"
While nothing is wrong with eating to satisfaction, the Sodomites ate to excess as a lifestyle.
As a result, they became self-absorbed, indulgent and lazy.
Sensual pleasures consumed them.
They did not care about others, spending their time and resources only to please themselves, not helping the poor and needy with the abundance they had.
I believe the story of Sodom is a cautionary tale for believers in Christ today.
Why Christians Must Confront Gluttony
Some say that gluttony is the most accepted sin in the church.
Our attitude seems to be, “Lord, I’ll give you everything – but do not touch my food!”
However, for our mission's sake, we must confront the spirit of gluttony that is rampant in the church.
Consider this: At the end of our lives, do we really want them to have been about eating “tasty treats?”
We are each called to make a positive difference in this world, to glorify our Lord in body and spirit. Jesus said in John 15:8:
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
This is the fruit of God’s spirit - evidence of His work in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This fruit grows in our lives as we renew our minds to God's word and yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our actions in every area, which includes in our eating habits.
If we are not becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, abounding in goodness, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled with each passing year, something is wrong with our Spiritual growth.
1 Corinthians 6:12 gives us wise guidance:
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
The Lord wants only good for us. He does not want us under the power of any habit that hurts us.
Gluttony and drunkenness are frequently linked together in the Bible - and that's not good.
These habits destroy our health and interfere with our ability to think soberly and make wise decisions.
They also leave us more vulnerable to enemy attacks. 1 Peter 5:8 advises us:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
The spirit of gluttony is a seductive one because it promises an escape from life, a release from pain.
However, as we overindulge in devouring food, the enemy is busy devouring us!
We become a rest stop for a wicked spirit.
As a Believer, we are called to be in the world but not of the world. The wisest thing to do is submit our pain to the Lord for healing in a spirit of humility.
As He heals us, we can restore food to its proper place and get on with our Father's business!
To confront the spirit of gluttony, you must also confront the deceptive foods in your life. Deceptive foods are those that seem harmless to you, but when you eat them you find that they hijack your brain!
When your brain is hijacked, you lose self-control, binge, and become emotionally unstable.
To avoid following the pattern of the Sodomites, let us confront the spirit of gluttony in our lives and cast it out.
A Prayer for Overcoming Gluttony
Here is a prayer for all who suffer from a spirit of gluttony to use to overcome it:
"Heavenly Father, you promised that if Your people, who are called by Your name, will humble themselves, pray, seek your face, and turn from our wicked ways, you will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.
I thank you for giving me such a great and precious promise by which I can escape the corruption in the world and affect our nation!
I am Your child, the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. I humble myself in this prayer, recognizing that I serve One greater than myself, who loves me to life!
I love you and you deserve all of me. My body and my spirit belong to You. Jesus bought me for You at a high cost indeed.
I am living to hear You say those wonderful words once I cross the finish line: “Well done, good and faithful child. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
My Savior, Jesus Christ, is my compassionate High Priest. So I come to you in Jesus’s name, confessing my sin of gluttony. Lust for food has captured me. But I do not want to be like a Sodomite. I do not want to be selfish, so focused on indulging my flesh that I ignore poor and hurting people around me.
I renounce the spirit of gluttony. I take any thoughts captive in my mind that deceive me into thinking that gluttony is harmless. It is not harmless.
It hurts me and it hurts others who are counting on my help. It is a wicked habit, a destructive habit. It destroys my health and keeps me trapped in a cycle of shame and guilt.
You don’t want me to live like that. Jesus came to set the captives free. I qualify! I repent Lord. I change my mind about this habit. You hate this habit as much as You hate drunkenness and I hate what You hate.
Open up my eyes as to what this habit has cost me, what it is costing me now, and what it will cost me in the future if I don’t change this now.
Lord, teach me Your way so that I may walk in Your truth daily. Your word is truth. Lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Gluttony is my enemy. Show me the foods that are hijacking my brain. Give me courage to kick them out of my life and replace them with foods that taste good but don’t hijack my brain.
I submit all emotional pain to You for healing, Lord. Help me regain emotional balance so that I put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
I know that You love me, Father and want what is best for me. You’ve begun a good work in me and will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Each day, I hold on to Your unchanging hand. I trust that You will lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name sake. I will delight myself in You and You will give me the desires of my heart.
My heart's desire is that You heal me and heal our nation so that the people in our land turns their hearts back to You.
Amen.
Remember, prayer is not a monologue; it is a dialogue. That means there are 2 parts to prayer: What you speak to God and what He speaks to you.
Many people don't see answers to prayer because they speak their part but then leave before listening to what God says to them.
Or else, they ignore what He says and carry on as before.
But here's the truth: An intolerable habit will remain in your life as long as you are willing to tolerate it.
Resist the enemy in this area and he must flee!