BREAKING BAD: GLUTTONY Genesis 25:27-34

Breaking Bad Message Series February 21, 2016 Pastor Nathan J. Thompson

These weeks we are looking at what are known as the “7 Deadly Sins,” under the theme, “Breaking Bad: 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People.” Therefore as we just watched the hot dog eating contest video we are focusing on “Gluttony;” something we all understand since most of us have at one time or another overindulged in something.

The definition of gluttony then is to have an excess; to have too much of anything. It is something that should be quite obvious to us with the extravagant lifestyles and spending habits of the rich and famous; with ponze scheme people like Bernie Madaff and Tom Petters; with how the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

The good news of course with the sin of gluttony is that our God is a God of grace, mercy and love. The good news is that God wants to rescue us from this sin of overindulgence and set us free; God wants to change and renew us so we are responsible stewards of all his gifts.

Please look at the very first book of the Bible (Genesis 25:27-34); the story of Jacob and Esau. To refresh your memory Jacob and Esau were the grandsons of Abraham and the sons of Isaac. They lived sometime between 1800 and 1600 BC.

In this familiar story we encounter how Esau was one who was focused a lot on feeding his appetite. In fact, one day he came back from hunting and he was really hungry. He said, “I’m famished.” He told Jacob who was cooking, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew.”

“Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’” Because he was so hungry Esau sold it to Jacob. A birthright at that time was something that was bestowed on the firstborn son in a family. It meant that this person was the family leader; the patriarch in the family lineage; he would in turn get a double share of the family’s land and inheritance.

My friends it is important to remember that God has also given each one of you a birthright. It is bestowed on you through Jesus’ death and resurrection; it is is promised to you in the covenant of God's grace and love; it is to be received by faith. This covenant is that God has put you here on his earth at this very special time to be part of his mission.

Jesus has given you special gifts to use so you can further his kingdom on earth. Jesus has called you to the mission of restoring the brokenness in this world; to helping bring people back into a relationship with God. That is your birthright; your inheritance in Jesus.

Yet when we start to crave other things; when we allow the things of this world to become more important than than our faith in Jesus it is easy for us to forget about the birthright God has given. As we seek instant gratification in the stuff of this world we can easily forget about God. Something important to note is that each one of these “7 Deadly Sins” are focused on the gifts God has given. Yet the problem is when we start to worship the gift; the problem is when we look for life and meaning in the gift rather than in the giver of the gift. The problem is in worshipping the creation rather than the creator. In doing that we can easily take these good gifts of God and distort them.

A couple examples: money is a good gift of God yet we can easily turn it into greed. Sex and intimacy is a good gift of God yet we can easily turn it into lust. Simply wanting to indulge in more and more stuff in this world can easily lead to gluttony.

What can easily happen is that we no longer eat simply to eat; we eat in order to mask some other problems in us. We no longer drink with moderation; rather we drink to numb our pain; to somehow help us with our despair or worries. In other words we no longer eat to live; to find strength for serving God; we rather eat to fill an emptiness deep in our souls.

The Bible teaches that God gives us everything that we need to live a full and abundant life each day. Yet by our own sinful natures we often like the temporary high of over-indulging; of living to excess. The truth however is that those temporary highs never last.

God’s purpose in giving us food is to fuel our bodies so we can serve him more faithfully. God’s purpose in giving us money and possessions is so that we can fund our basic living needs; so that we can also share generously with others and can support Jesus’ mission. God calls us to be good and faithful stewards of everything.

It is important I believe to remember that much of Jesus’ ministry centered around food. In fact in the Jewish society of that time eating was a vital relationship activity; these relationships and the time spent together were much more important than the food itself.

Food for them was symbolic of all that God has done. It reminded them that we serve a good and bountiful God. Each meal was always surrounded with lots of thanksgiving and praise. Do you take the time to stop and thank God before putting any food in your body?

In my ministry over the years I worked with a number of people who shared with me their “5th Steps” through Alcoholics Anonymous. I helped the chaplain at Project Turnabout in Granite Falls do a number of 5th Steps; worked with a treatment center in Litchfield in doing some; and helped a few people in my previous church where we had an active Gambler's Anonymous group that met every week.

Something I learned in my training is that up until recent years Jewish people traditionally had much lower incidences of alcoholism and binge drinking. The reason was attributed to the fact that wine was always treated by these people as a gift from God; a blessing from his bounty.

From the time Jewish people are young children (in their Passover and festival meals) they are taught to thank God for this special gift; God's fruit from the vine. The result has been that instances of (abuse/misuse) have not often been as many as other ethnic groups. The sad truth is that our Scandinavian and Germanic backgrounds have often been above average with overindulgence with alcohol; above average with addictions and problems. The question is “Do we live to eat, or do we eat to live?” Food; drink; the blessings of this world are gifts which God has given in order that we can love and serve him each day. Are we obsessing about and hoarding these things; or are we using them for God’s glory?

Remember the story of the people of Israel in Exodus 16? As they wandered in the wilderness they began to grumble and complain that they didn’t have enough food. In fact, some were ready to go back into slavery in Egypt so they could eat and have their hunger satisfied.

What happens of course is that God hears their cries and responds with grace and love. God sends them the food of quail in the evening; a bird for meat. Then in the morning he sent them manna; a bread like dew they could collect. God's only rule was that they were to take only as much as they needed for that one day—any extra taken would spoil.

Each meal they were to be reminded that God was the one who brought them out of their slavery in Egypt. It was to remind them that what they need most to live is God. This of course is also true for us; God is what we need the most; only he can satisfy our true hunger and needs.

In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” To the Woman at the Well in John 4 Jesus said, “But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst.”

My friends, just think of all the ways that our society promises it will fill us up; then think about all the ways that God fills us; then think about ways we can help others to fill their hunger and void; ways we can help others to come to know God in a personal way.

The truth is that gluttony usually cuts God out of the picture. When we hoard; when we feel we need to consume more and more for me we stop trusting God to provide for our daily needs. Also when we become so focused on my stuff it usually makes us blind to the needs of the world around us.

The truth is that people all around the world are dying of hunger and lack of fresh water. Do you realize that some 500 children have died during the time of this worship service alone? And as the income inequality continues to grow in our world these numbers are continuing to grow.

However the real sobering news is that God has given and blessed our world with more than enough for everyone. Yet most of us in our country have way more than we need. The challenge is how we can help these people? How can we care as Jesus says in Matthew 25 for “the least of these my brothers and sisters?”

Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” My friends, Jesus came to fill your hunger; to fill you with his love. May you receive him today by faith; may you allow him to satisfy you so you will never be hungry again.