Christians Should Not Be Fat

I have a tendency to eat too much. I also have a tendency to drink too much. After much soul searching, and also much Bible reading, I have come to the conclusion that it is just as sinful to be fat as it is to be drunk.

Many Christians consider it a sin to be drunk. And so they should. The Bible very clearly declares that being drunk is sinful. And yet many Christians accept being fat as just a matter of personal lifestyle. But I see a paradox in all of this. If there was a drunk person in church I am sure that it would cause quite an uproar. But having a fat person in church is totally acceptable. In fact, if you were to enter almost any church, on any given Sunday, you would most likely see a lot of fat people.

I realize that there is a big difference socially between obesity and drunkenness. Drunk drivers are involved in untold accidents every year – some of them fatal. And people who are drunk often lack self-control both sexually and aggressively. Being fat does not involve quite the same consequences. Unless someone is so fat that they cannot turn the steering wheel I doubt that too many automobile accidents are the result of a driver being overweight. And, I do not recall hearing about too may fat people going around raping and pillaging.

But I am not talking about the social consequences of sin. I am talking about the Godly ones. What does God, in his written word, have to say about all of this? I find that there are almost as many verses in the Bible condemning gluttony as there are that condemn drunkenness. According to God's word it is just as sinful for a fat person to drink a can of soda-pop as it is for a drunk person to drink a can of beer.

If this is true then why do we condemn the drunkard but not the overweight? Why do so many Christians accept being fat without remorse? Christians need to exercise self-control, or better yet “Christ-control”, in all areas of their lives. This includes food as well as alcohol. Being drunk is sinful. And so is being fat.