Have you ever noticed how easy it is to keep reaching for more, even when you already have enough?
More food. More stuff. More entertainment. More comfort. More of whatever promises to make us feel good for just a little while longer.
When we hear the word gluttony, we often think about food. But when we look more closely at Scripture, we discover gluttony reaches beyond overeating. It can show up whenever enough doesn’t feel like enough and we keep reaching for more.
So, what does the Bible say about gluttony?
Proverbs 28:7 gives us an interesting place to begin:
Intelligent children follow instruction, but those who befriend gluttons shame their parents.
Proverbs 28:7 (CEB)
As we look more closely at the word glutton, we’ll discover an invitation to consider our own appetites. Where are we consuming more than is actually good for us? And where might our dissatisfaction be leading us to reach for something that can never deeply satisfy?
Why Gluttony Is About More Than Food
A glutton is someone who consumes voraciously, obsessively, or to excess.
Certainly, that can describe food. Most of us eat more food than we actually need sometimes.
But what else do we have a ravenous hunger for?
What else might we gorge ourselves on?
Where are we consuming more of anything than is actually good for us?
Several translations of Proverbs 28:7 help broaden our understanding. The Complete Jewish Bible describes these people as “those lacking restraint.” The New American Bible, Revised Edition uses the word wastrels, which carries the idea of wasting resources extravagantly.
That idea of wasting something valuable takes me to the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The younger son squandered his inheritance.
I think about that a lot.
I’m not throwing away money my father gave me on wild living. But I am a child of God with an inheritance of peace, joy, and rest.
When I hold up my hand to those things and say, I don’t want it. I don’t have time for it. I don’t deserve it—whatever the reason—is that not a version of squandering?
And when I reject that inheritance for an insatiable appetite for something that is only a weak substitute for what I really have and need, what is that costing me?
That’s a sobering question.
Step By Step Bible Study: What the Bible Says About Gluttony in Proverbs 28:7
Let’s look more closely at the word translated gluttons in Proverbs 28:7.
The Hebrew word is zalal. In this context, it carries the idea of being morally loose, worthless, or prodigal. It can also be connected with scattering something profusely or treating something lightly.
That helps us understand why what the Bible says about gluttony is about much more than how much we eat.
Gluttony can describe reckless or indulgent behavior. It can involve treating lightly something that deserves greater weight or seriousness.
The Enduring Word Commentary makes another important observation about Proverbs 28:7: the warning isn’t only about our own behavior. The verse specifically addresses the people with whom we associate.
Our choices matter. And the choices of those we allow to influence us matter, too.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out that associating with gluttons can begin a path toward drunkenness, laziness, and even poverty.
Which raises another important question:
What is our overindulgence stealing from us?
How is it making us poorer?
Maybe not financially. Maybe it’s costing us peace. Rest. Time. Relationships. Opportunities. The ability to use what God has given us in ways that honor Him.
What Pinocchio Taught Me About Overindulgence
I fell in love with Disney songs and stories as a toddler when my paternal grandparents gave me a collection of Disney LPs for my second birthday.
But one movie I’ve never cared for much is Pinocchio.
And I think one reason is because of the way it depicts the destruction that comes from gluttony.
Little boys are lured to Pleasure Island with the promise of indulgence.
They can play all they want. Eat all they want. Tear things up all they want. Stay up as late as they want.
It’s a complete abandonment of self-discipline.
And then they begin turning into donkeys.
A tail. Pointed ears. A donkey face.
Until they are no longer what they were created to be.
Do you hear the warning in that?
I do.
It invites me to ask where my own overindulgence in things that will never satisfy is reducing the beauty of how God created me to use my gifts to bless the world.
We’ve all done the “donkey behavior” thing.
And God restores. Redeems. Heals. Works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
But He also calls us to trust Him where we are and follow Him from where we are so we don’t take the donkey path in the first place.
When “Go Ahead, It’ll Be Fun” Leads Us Down the Wrong Path
One of the things that has helped me in my walk with the Lord is learning to recognize the voice of the enemy and distinguish it from God’s voice.
The enemy works in half-truths, which makes his lies easier to believe.
What might be a half-truth connected to gluttony and overindulgence?
Go ahead. It’ll be fun.
And maybe it will be.
For a moment.
But listen to the truth Scripture gives us instead:
Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path.
Proverbs 23:19 (NIV)
God guides us toward the right path. When we listen to Him and follow Him, we learn to recognize when our desire for more is actually leading us away from the life He has for us.
The “hangover” of walking the wrong path comes when I realize I haven’t honored God, others, or myself.
Something to Consider
Where does enough have trouble feeling like enough in your life?
It may be food, but don’t stop there.
Consider your stuff. Entertainment. Comfort. Spending. Work. Recognition. Even the way you use your time.
Where might you be reaching for more of something because you’re expecting it to satisfy a hunger it was never designed to fill?
And what might that overindulgence be costing you?
Key Takeaway
Overindulgence in what will never satisfy can pull me away from who God created me to be.
I want to recognize when enough is enough, listen to God’s direction, and follow the path He has for me.
Listen to the Full Episode
🎧 #388 | Seven Deadly Sins: Why Gluttony Keeps Us Wanting More (and How God Teaches Deep Satisfaction)
In this episode of Understand Your Bible, we study Proverbs 28:7 and the Hebrew word zalal to uncover how overindulgence, lack of restraint, and our constant desire for more can pull us away from the life God desires for us.