Jul | 06 | Gluttonus Maximus, Big Boys & The Giant Greedy

Key Word:- STRENGTH

Title:- Gluttonus Maximus, Big Boys & The Giant Greedy 

Deuteronomy 21:20-21 And they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'

Gluttonus Maximus was a Roman butcher who kept a small shop on the Appian Way. Famous for his sausages, livers and lambs legs, he never the less died aged just 28 and weighing 412lbs. A nice man, but being lavish and unrestrained, he died of a heart attack from greed and excess. Many of our generation shall follow his direction and demise on our way to Krispee Kreme, Home Town Buffet, TGI Friday, Frisch’s or wherever else we can fill our plates up to the ceiling with weighted excess.

Frisch’s restaurant chain was founded in America nearly one hundred years ago in the city of Cincinnati and of course in 1946, introduced their full 1/2lb beef double decker ‘Big Boy’ onto the market. The big-eyed plastic waiter with red checkered dungarees, has become their national icon for the 'Big Boy' and today the plastic icon and the 'Big Boy Burger' are both on sale behind every Frisch’s counter!

Now let me tell you friends, that I am partial to an ‘all you can eat’ menu, and my Scots blood likes to get more than its money’s worth. So, just the other day, in we went to trawl the breakfast bar. It was a holiday and the place was packed. Those leaving, even though they waddled out of the door, were still getting ‘to go’ bags, or ‘to go’ cups so they could continue munching in the car, (America is a country that walks very little.) Meanwhile, the food that was left behind on the plates, if gathered up, could feed a small African nation! The 'Big Boys' weren’t just on the shelves waiting to be purchased, oh no, they perambulated and bounced alongside numerous big mommas on their way to their third of fourth helping. And where were we? Stuck in up to our elbows with the rest of them, chowing down. It’s got to be said, we’re a fat nation! We’re killing ourselves, and I’m sorry, but it’s a sin.

Now let’s clear some issues out of the way. As a former fitness instructor, I advised a lot of people on their diets and remember meeting a man who had lost 60 lbs in 6 months. “Yup, once the doctor gave me the correct medication for my thyroid,” he remarked, “All my right eating and exercising kicked in and the weight fell off.” Hmmm? It’s obvious that maybe some of us have a medical problem that needs checking out. Every overweight person should first visit the doctor before starting any exercise programme. However, if you check out ok with the doctor friends and you're still fat, then brother, sister, I am afraid that you are simply eating too much. End of story. The Bible calls this gluttony.

If under pressure we continually and habitually turn to drugs, we are classed as an addict. If under pressure we consistently turn to drink we are classed as an alcoholic. If under pressure we continually turn to chocolate or ice-cream or cake, or food in general, then at the most, we are classed as 'a bit of a joke', a silent laugh line in a comedy sketch. However don’t be deceived friends, for in the end it is all rebellion, idolatry, excessiveness and lavishness that leads to slavery and death. Gluttony is all of this, for it is a seeking of satisfaction and comfort in something other than God. I am not innocent, for I am a chocoholic and it is no joke! Ask my dentist. Ask my bank manager.

Look, enjoy your food and even pig out a little sometimes, but if food is overtaking you, overcoming you, eating you up and has become the comforter you turn to in times of trouble, then your excess is a sin that needs repenting of and by now, probably a physical problem that needs attending to. God helps all repentant sinners, and so in this He can help us gluttons as well. Turn to Him when He calls you. If you don’t, then it’s bad manners and you might just end up busting a blood vessel and falling into a pig trough.

Listen:- Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

Pray:- Jesus I am sorry when I turn to candy and brandy instead of You. O Lord my God, let my soul delight itself in true fatness, because I know You and am always a familiar and open-mouthed at Your most healthy table. Amen.