Is it a sin to enjoy food?

mikeforjesus

What do you think?

Believer in God

I don't think that it is a sin to enjoy food, please forgive me and correct me if I am wrong. I think that instead, the church teaches us to be thankful and enjoy all of the food we get, because the Lord has brought it to us. The poor people enjoy all the food that they get, "haram", no matter what it may be because they are thankful for the food that is brought to them by the Lord. I think that enjoying the food might become a sin when they recieve luxurious foods and then begin to loose humility and ask for more and more and forget that there are poor people out there without anything. I know that I enjoy much of food we eat while we fast and I don't feel as guilty because I eat like the poor instead of eating above them. This is really an interesting question and I am not really strong in this concept and knowing what the church accepts. Please forgive me if I mislead any one in my untrue concepts.

Please pray for me always,
Believer in God

Unknown

Enjoying food per se, is not a sin. Enjoying food in excess i.e. gluttony, is a sin - as is anything which is not performed moderately, and which would otherwise be an innocent and lawful act.

why

what do you mean in excess Iqbal?? OK use the example of KEBAB...i have been waiting throughout the whole fasting period to get my hands on a delicous Chicken Kebab...is this thought or 'wish' a sin??

Unknown

The desire to enjoy food that appeals to your taste is not a sin in and of itself. It depends on the context, and also how one manages to control and the manner in which one fulfills (if the circumstance is appropriate) this desire. So for example, since we are still fasting according to the Holy Month of Kiahk, then one must suppress that desire so that it does not interfere with their abstinence or their spirituality; they must control it so that the desire does not progress to a more dangerous stage: temptation.

Furthermore, once the fast is over, such that the cricumstance is appropriate for one to fulfill the desire of the tastebuds, one must be able to nonetheless control their consumption of such food, such that it is enjoyed in moderation and not excessively.

what do you mean in excess Iqbal??

Excess means just that; it's plain and ordinary dictionary meaning:

1. A quantity much larger than is needed
2. Immoderation as a consequence of going beyond sufficient or permitted limits
3. The state of being more than full
4. Excessive indulgence

Excess with respect to the consumption of food is termed gluttony, which possess the plain and ordinary dictionary meaning of:

1. Habitual eating to excess
2. Eating to excess

The Bible attests to the severity of gluttony as a serious sin:

Proverbs 23:2: "...and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony."

Phillipians 3:18-19: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things."

mikeforjesus

Do you think God might think Habitual eating to excess wrong for someone who is very skinny and wants to get to normal weight?

Luke90

If someone is very skinny, like from being malnourished, then eating to excees isn't going to get him\her back to a normal weight any faster, and it's just unhealthy for them. I'm not a doctor or anything but I remember reading that you can't let a starving person eat to excess because they'll eat themselves to death, just like you can't from a hypothermic person too fast or they'll die.

I think the more important thing is for that kind of person to start eating a more balanced diet and maybe take some vitamins if they need it.

Unknown

Umm... this is a really good question. Ther are several answers. One yes and the other is no. WE are supposed to be thankful like believer in God said, but we cannot exceede the limit and be pigs. So, mainly it is not a sin in this case. Another thing is yes. For example in the siam we shoulnt hinger for that food. This is a time for God's word to come in to us and the holy spirit as well. So if we are desiring for food then yes it is a big sin, but if we are eating it and liking it there is nothing wrong with that. I think though that we shouldnt overdoit.

Love lots... CopticChica21

why

i read in the spring of love here in Australia...do you get that in America?? anyway in an Article by h.h pope shenouda 3rd that praying whilst your hungry means 50 times much more to both you and God than on a full stomach!!!

...sorry i went slightly off topic...it was just interesting for people to know ;D

mikeforjesus

Im not sure but I think it may not be a sin but it means your still struggling..

Maybe someone else knows.