Self-control is the issue.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 3 comments link this postI pretty sure that anyone who has been reading around the web has stumbled across an article, such as this one, that tells about the rising obesity rates in...Protestant Christians.
It seems that telling people they can't smoke or drink turns them to abusing food. We are humans, and we struggle with self-control. And that's really the issue, isn't it?
It is with great interest that I read "The Big Mac turns 40 and I'm lovin' it" because the food/gluttony issue isn't really addressed in churches. To me, food is the trickiest of all because we have to eat. We don't have to drink (I don't). We don't have to smoke. We don't have to do a lot of supposed "off-limits" things but...we have to eat. Food would appear to be the most difficult of all when it comes to self-control.
It is easy for me to use self-control in regards to alcohol, since my stance is "none" and that's it. Really, that's not self-control. That's complete avoidance.
In the Big Mac post, I noted the difference between the two:
[...] That's its own kind of lack of self-control (eating too much, and starving yourself seem like opposites, but are really all about not being able to control yourself).
The issue of being able to control ourselves is huge. I can't help but think that strict stances on forbidding some things have made many Christians flock to abuse of food and think that they are fine, and that getting comfort in food is not really a problem since it "isn't alcohol!" or it "isn't tobacco!"
Gluttony is one of those sins that get masked over too much in evangelical churches, as if, to make up for not drinking or smoking, eating a whole pie is OK. Abuse is abuse.
What are your thoughts?
UPDATE: You may find some of the discussion on this post relating to the issue of self-control.
UPDATE: You may find this farcical article a little too true.
Labels: discussion, health, religion
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 8/24/2007 01:22:00 PM
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3 Comments:
What if food is the only pleasure a person gets? Would you take that away?
What if a person is genetically predisposed to gaining weight more easily than others?
By 
, at
August 24, 2007 4:21 PM
This is going to sound very "sunday school" answer, but... anything that distracts us from taking our pleasure in God is detrimental. God isn't trying to punish us and demand we be miserable masochists, but if food is the only pleasure a person gets, something is seriously wrong in their life and they are going to pay for it in their health and happiness.
Think about it: food, the only pleasure. That's not the sign of a healthy life, just as if drinking or partying or adrenaline sports is the only pleasure. This would lead to another question: is our life about our pleasure, or is it meant to be enjoyed but not necessarily about our own pleasure?
Again, I'm not advocating that everyone become an ascetic -- I don't get that as being suggested at all in the Bible. God made things of beauty and we are to enjoy it. Nor do I pretend amazing banquets and feasts didn't happen in the Bible, because they did.
At the risk of caveats -- yes, people are obese for many reasons, some outside of their control, etc..
However, that said, it is highly interesting that the obesity rates for Baptists/Protestants is higher than the national average.
I think there is a connection, as I've mentioned in this post. I know I see it in church: there's no qualm with going back for more and more food, long past being satiated.
By 
Julie R. Neidlinger, at
August 24, 2007 4:40 PM
(I want to stress that I say all of the above, and write the post, not without my own food battles. In no way have I "arrived" at sainthood. I talk about this struggle knowing it firsthand. OK?)
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