Before doing this short study, please read the one-minute introduction: Do You Say Grace and Then Engage in Gluttony? It discusses the differences between being overweight, obese, bulimic, and anorexic. It also explains a particular Scripture verse that helped me overcome my sin of gluttony. ~ Gail
Now let's take a look at Scriptures that apply to gluttony.
1. We must be careful about things and people that influence us:
✔ Proverbs 23:19-21: “Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”
✔ Proverbs 28:7: “A discerning son heeds instruction, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.”
Drunkards and gluttons may not become poor financially, but they become poor spiritually and physically. This should be a motivation for us to beware of people and influences in our lives that point us toward gluttony. In addition, obesity is not a good witness of our Christian faith.
2. Be careful of bad leadership examples:
Among other things, 1 Timothy 3 says a pastor must “be above reproach...temperate, self-controlled, respectable...not given to drunkenness.” Titus 1:5-9 repeats the need for a pastor not to be a drunkard and also says he must be “self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.”
When we've visited churches in a new location, my husband and I have sometimes visited ones where the pastor is clearly obese and sometimes severely obese, and we've never felt comfortable joining those churches. I'm not talking about overweight pastors, but genuinely obese pastors. According to the instructions in Timothy and Titus, such men do not qualify because they are not above reproach, not self-controlled, and not disciplined. A pastor does not need to be perfect, but he cannot continue in an ungodly lifestyle and lead others.
If a person is battling with the sin of gluttony, they want to seek help and prayers from leaders who understand the serious nature of their sin, not those who join them in it.
3. When our stomach is our god:
✔ Philippians 3:18-19: “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with
tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is
destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their
shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”
From GotQuestions: “Their god is their belly: This
phrase metaphorically describes individuals who prioritize physical
appetites and desires over spiritual devotion. In the Greco-Roman world,
indulgence in food and sensual pleasures was common, and this imagery
would resonate with Paul's audience. The ‘belly’ symbolizes
self-gratification and idolatry of personal desires, echoing Romans
16:18, where Paul warns against those who serve their own appetites.
This serves as a caution against allowing physical desires to take
precedence over spiritual commitments.”
4. This passage gives important emphasis to the care of our bodies:
✔ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s
Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will
destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are
that temple.”
As Christians, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies, seeking to care for them responsibly. If you are struggling with gluttony, please read some of the passages in this study each day and seek God deliberately and daily.
copyright 2026, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, by Gail Burton Purath
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