By Pastor Bruce Oyen
E-mail: bk_oyen@hotmail.com
One common response given to those who oppose alcoholic beverages goes something like this: "Why do you oppose alcohol but not gluttony, since the Bible speaks against it, too?" This is a legitimate question. But do those who ask it know what the Bible means by "gluttony"? Is gluttony simply eating so much that one is over weight? No, it is far more serious than that. So, then, what does the Bible mean by it? Let some Bible dictionaries answer the question.
The Holman Bible Dictionary
Here (in red) is the definition of the subject given in the Holman Bible Dictionary:
One habitually given to greedy and voracious eating. Gluttony was associated with stubbornness, rebellion, disobedience, drunkenness, and wastefulness (Deuteronomy 21:20). A more general meaning for the Hebrew term as a “good-for-nothing” (Proverbs 28:7 TEV) is reflected in some translations: wastrel (Deuteronomy 21:20 REB); profligate (Deuteronomy 21:20 NIV; Proverbs 28:7 REB); riotous (Proverbs 28:7 KJV). When Jesus was accused of being a “glutton and wine-drinker” (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34), it was in this expanded sense of being one given to loose and excessive living. The Bible knows gluttony makes one sleepy and leads to not working and poverty (Proverbs 23:21).
Here is a link to the website from which this quote was obtained:
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Here (in red) is the definition of gluttony given in Easton's Bible Dictionary:
(Deuteronomy 21:20), Heb. zolel, from a word meaning "to shake out," "to squander;" and hence one who is prodigal, who wastes his means by indulgence. In Proverbs 23:21, the word means debauchees or wasters of their own body. In Proverbs 28:7, the word (pl.) is rendered Authorized Version "riotous men;" Revised Version, "gluttonous." Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34, Greek phagos, given to eating, gluttonous.
Here is a link to the website from which this quote was obtained:
We learn from these dictionaries that gluttony is far more serious than simply eating too much and being, perhaps, over weight because of doing so. Consider, again, part of what the Holman Bible Dictionary says about the matter: One habitually given to greedy and voracious eating. Gluttony was associated with stubbornness, rebellion, disobedience, drunkenness, and wastefulness (Deuteronomy 21:20). Does that really describe most persons we know who eat too much? Most likely not.
Truthfully, I think many of those who oppose alcoholic beverages do oppose what the Bible means by gluttony. It would be odd for them to oppose alcohol and not oppose these things, too.
Furthermore, as one carefully reads through the Bible, one sees that everyone of the sins that constitute gluttony are spoken against. Therefore, when someone systematically teaches and preaches through the Bible, these sins will be exposed to be what they are: sins that need to be eliminated from one's life.
