Gluttony and Drunkenness — Moral Equivalence?

A recent article cross-published on Rooted Thinking and Sharper Iron has elicited a stream of argument. I have one small item to add to the discussion.

One commenter mentioned in passing that gluttony is also a sin, with the implication that if one were opposed to alcohol consumption, one should be equally opposed to gluttony. That comment is not the only place I have seen this argument employed.

Let us first stipulate that gluttony and drunkenness are both sins. Let us further stipulate that sins violate the holiness of God and displease Him. Finally, let us stipulate that both sins arise from a lack of self-control.

On the other hand, not all sins have equally grave and equally extensive natural consequences. I have never heard of someone wrecking an automobile and destroying property and human life simply because of overeating. I have never heard of someone physically abusing family members and destroying his home because he had too much to eat. I have never heard of someone initiating or engaging in a brawl because of too much food intake. I know of no one who lost his job because he came to work having had too much for breakfast.

The much-maligned Temperance Movement had a point. I suspect that the lives saved on account of the difficulty of obtaining alcohol due to prohibition might be larger than the number of lives lost in the gang wars that accompanied it.

Social drinking can and has led to drunkenness and alcoholism. One cannot take a second drink if one does not take the first drink. What percentage of the general population has a drinking problem? To drink alcohol is to risk adding to that distressing statistic. Christians are not exempt. I know many people who live happy and productive lives who have never imbibed alcohol.

Eating also involves the risk of becoming a glutton. However, fasting indefinitely is not an option if one wants to continue living. Making gluttony and drunkenness morally equivalent is a weak argument.

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David Potter served for many years as a missionary in Hungary with Baptist World Mission.