“For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags” (Prov 23:21).

“For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Phil 3:18-19).

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Overeating is a sin. It makes me feel ugly because my belly becomes swollen and I feel (even though I’m not) fat. It makes me worry that I’ll soon and inevitably be overweight like many of my good friends who used to be thin but have since let themselves go. It expands my stomach so that the next time I eat I have to eat more to get the same full-feeling, which makes me more vulnerable to perpetuating this bad habit. Somehow it manages to eliminate my feeling of confidence in all my labors. It makes me feel altogether weak because my body must expend too much energy at once to digest the overload of food. This weakness hinders me from diligence. It hinders me from joy by weighing my conscience down with great guilt. This in turn hinders me from being able to bless others because my vessel becomes temporarily clogged by my guilt and weakness. When I overeat, I am making a god out of my appetite. Though I know it’s wrong, at the time it seems more desirable than what I know is right. Worst of all, it is an evidence of my taking more pleasure in food than in God. How sad. God help me.