John 6:35
We continue this week with the “Seven
Deadly Sins”—that list of attitudes and behaviors that our Christian ancestors
began developing in the 3rd Century, those attitudes and behaviors
that rob us of life, and separate us from God and one another.
Gluttony is taking an excess of food
or drink…more than we need. We find gluttony mentioned and condemned in the Old
and New Testaments. In the 21st Century, we continue to wrestle with
gluttony. We tend to celebrate every good thing with excess food and drink, and
we tend to respond to every set-back with excess food and drink. Our culture
glorifies food, promotes excess, and generally encourages us to throw off
restraint. To make it worse, our food manufacturers today desig addictive ultra
processed foods.
But, food and drink are no longer the
only excesses of our lives. We have hundreds of channels and dozens of
streaming services that tickle our desire to be entertained. So, we watch more
and more and more. We live in a capitalist culture that encourages us to buy
more and more and more. We now binge on potato chips, binge on alcohol,
binge-watch shows, and binge-shop at the mall. We eat, drink, watch, and buy
more, and these excesses are robbing us of life.
Paul writes that people have becomes “enemies
of the cross” and that “their god is their stomach” (Phil. 3:18-19). In short,
people are trying to fill the spiritual hole in their lives in the same way they
fill their stomach—with food and drink. All of our excess is our attempt to deal
with the emotional and spiritual issues of our lives with physical, earthly
stuff. We eat too much, drink too much, watch too much, and buy too much as we deal
with personal emptiness, strive to handle the pain of life, or attempt to fell
something instead of nothing.
Jesus knows this is true, and we find
it in John 6. Over 5000 people are fed. Jesus leaves and travels to another
part of the lake. The people follow him and want more food. Jesus tells them that
what they need is not more baked bread but the “bread of life”—himself.
As with bad habits, we need to replace
sinful attitudes and behaviors with virtuous ones. Just as I replaced bread, butter,
and honey (deadly) with cucumbers, hummus, and whole-wheat crackers
(life-giving), we replace gluttony (excess for self) with generosity towards
others. We say ‘no’ to the sin, ask God to show us what we’re avoiding or not
dealing with well, and instead of feeding ourselves, getting drunk, watching
the screen until we fall asleep, or buying yet another blouse or another tool, we
help feed others, we do chores that await us, we serve others, we get outside
of ourselves. In short, we recognize that Jesus is what we lack, and we stop trying
to fill ourselves and our time with food, drink, and stuff. We turn to God to
help us redirect our lives towards Jesus—the bread of life—and his Kingdom.
Sunday, June 22, 2025
“Seven Deadly Sins Life-Giving Virtues”
Watch/Listen: HERE