As we address the subject of gluttony, we must begin with an
important qualificataion. This short essay is not about that
second helping of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. At the same
time, the issues here remain important ones. Gluttony does not
refer to a desire to eat and drink, but rather to an inordinate
desire. And when we use words like inordinate, we have to
remember to ask the fundamental question—by what standard? “Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate . . . Meats for the belly, and the
belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them” (1 Cor.
6:9-20). What sort of company does gluttony keep? The sin
condemned in Scripture as gluttony is identified by its
companions. The word in the Old Testament is zalal, and refers
to riotous eating. One instance of it is brought to our
attention by exasperated parents. In the book of Deuteronomy, we
see what happens when parents of a glutto