Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to our Christmas series called Tangled in the Tinsel. This series is all about recapturing Christmas. It’s so easy to get all tangled up in the holiday that our culture has created and all the while miss out on what God wants for us in this season. We’re going to spend this month exposing what Christmas has become and exploring what God intended it to be.

And today we’re starting with the Christmas feast. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Eaten so much Christmas dinner that we need a crane to help us up from the table. Stuffed ourselves so full of turkey and ham and dressing and mashed potatoes and gravy and egg nog and pumpkin pie that we’re just sure we’re going to explode. In fact we’re in so much pain that exploding doesn’t sound like a half bad idea.

The Bible word for it is gluttony. That’s one of those incredibly descriptive words from the Scripture. As soon as you hear the word gluttony, a mental picture develops in your head.

Maybe you think of Augustus Gloop from the Willie Wonka movies. He’s the one who ignored all the warnings from Willie Wonka and drank from the chocolate river. He ended up falling in and he was quite painfully sucked up through a pipe…all because of his gluttony.

Or maybe the word gluttony reminds you of a buffet. It’s interesting that Brian and I planned this Christmas series over lunch at Golden Corral. There’s some serious gluttony that happens at that place. I don’t know how many times I went back for more fried chicken…and then sat back down at the table to talk about a message on gluttony. Nothing inconsistent about that, is there?

One thing I think of when it comes to gluttony is a county fair. There may be no better place in the world to see gluttony on full display. At a fair, I’m convinced that they will deep fry anything. You can get fried cheese, fried pickles, fried Snickers bars, fried cheesecake, fried Twinkies. You can even get deep fried Coca-Cola. How you fry Coke, I’ll never know. But they figured out a way to do it. And at the fairs, you see people lined up waiting to pay $7 for a basket of grease!

We live in the most gluttonous, most excessive, most affluent, most out-of-control culture on the planet. And the gluttony monster rears its head big time during the Christmas season.

Most of the time like we’ve just talked about, we connect gluttony with food. And that is definitely a valid connection. But it’s not the only connection. The Biblical idea of gluttony is much broader than just food.

You can boil it down to this simple idea. Gluttony is the excessive desire for something. The key word is “excessive.” That’s the real key to understanding the biblical picture of gluttony.

It can be an excessive abuse of food. Or it could be that you have an excessive desire for money, or influence, or clothes, or cars, or sex, or recognition. Are any of these things inherently wrong? No. But they all can be abused. They all can be carried to excess. They all can be avenues for gluttony.

Look at this verse from the book of Ecclesiastes. “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.” (Ecclesiastes 7:18, NIV)

The sin is not in the food. Or the money, clothes, or any of that other stuff. The sin is in the extreme. It’s in the excess. There are so many things in life where God has called us to live in moderation. Not in abstinence. Not in excessiveness. In moderation.

Proverbs 25 tells us, “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” (Proverbs 25:28, NLT)

When this Proverb was written, all major cities were fortified with walls. A city without walls wasn’t a city. It was wide open to be invaded and conquered.

Walls are a defensive structure. They are meant to keep something or someone out. Solomon, who wrote this proverb, tells us that without self-control, the walls in our lives come down. We open ourselves up to attack.

You don’t have to look very far at all to see the truth of this Scripture come to life. It’s the family who is drowning in debt because of their maxed out credit cards. “Oh, it’s just one purchase.” “Well, I don’t have the money right now, but I’ll pay off the balance as soon as the statement comes.” All lies that we sell ourselves to mask our lack of spending control. It wrecks our lives while MasterCard and Visa live it up on our money. Lack of self-control breaks down the walls in our lives and we get hit and we get hit hard.

Again from Ecclesiastes: “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.” (Ecclesiastes 7:18, NIV) This verse doesn’t give us the option to take anything in our lives to the extreme. It doesn’t say that if we fear God, we’ll avoid some extremes. Not even most extremes. If we live as God-fearing men and women, we will avoid all extremes. We will avoid the gluttonous excess of anything in our lives. We’ll live with self-restraint.

When we lack self-control and take things to the excess, we open ourselves up to attack. But when we live out the godly principle of moderation, our lives are built on a solid foundation and the walls in our lives will stand strong.

Now, what does this have to do with Christmas? In our culture, it has everything to do with it. Anybody here go shopping the day after Thanksgiving? I knew there had to be some crazy people in a group this size. Christmas is big business in America. In our country alone, Christmas generates $435 billion worth of economic activity. That’s billion, with a “B.” And that’s not worldwide. That’s just in our nation. The average two-parent family in the United States will spend $1,500 on Christmas gifts this year.

Christmas has become the most excessive, most gluttonous season of the year. And it’s really easy for Christ-followers to get sucked into the spending spree.

We like to tack on a little something to our verse from Ecclesiastes. “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes…”except in December. (Ecclesiastes 7:18, New Excuses Version)

But I’m afraid that Solomon’s words don’t allow us to tack on anything extra. I’m not saying that shopping and gift buying are wrong. Remember what gluttony means. The sin isn’t in the shopping or the gift buying. The sin is in the excess. As Christ-followers, God calls us to avoid all extremes, even during the holidays.

There’s a stark contrast of simplicity and gluttony in the Christmas story in the Bible. God’s Son, Jesus, had been born. God in the flesh had come to earth. And God chose to reveal this fact to different people at different times in different ways. I want to take a couple of minutes and explore the reaction of some of the people who heard about Jesus’ birth.

The first people to hear of the birth of Christ were a group of shepherds. Luke 2 tells us, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them…

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:8-18, 20, NIV)

This is a fascinating bit of Biblical history when you understand the cultural context. Shepherds had no status or influence in this culture. They were regarded as bumpkins. Socially inept and insignificant. They lived very meager lives. A shepherd’s life was lived hand-to-mouth. On a good day, the shepherd could provide a small dinner for his family. On a bad day…it was a bad day.

And it is these smelly, low-class, probably foul-mouthed, scraggly shepherds that God chose as the first people to receive a birth announcement for his Son. The Bible tells us that God does not show favoritism, and that is evidenced in the Christmas story when God sent his angels to the shepherds.

I love how the shepherds reacted after the angels left. They said, “Let’s go. Leave the sheep, we’ve gotta get to Bethlehem lickety split.”

So they get to Bethlehem and see the Christ child lying in a manger. A dirty, rough wooden feeding trough for animals. They are amazed by everything they see, and then Luke tells us that when the shepherds left, they left “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:8-18, 20, NIV)

Now, let’s contrast this with another character in the Christmas story: King Herod. We got to Matthew 2 for his story.

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi [or wise men] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: (they quoted from the Old Testament prophet, Micah) 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." (Matthew 2:1-8, NIV)

Now, fast-forward a little bit in the story. The Magi or wise men had visited the Christ-child (who was probably about two years old by this time). They bowed down and worshipped him. They presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It was a beautiful scene.

Now let’s pick it up in Matthew 2:12. “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, [the Magi] returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." (Matthew 2:12-13, NIV)

Wow. This beautiful story took an ugly turn, didn’t it? What is so fascinating to me about this story is Herod’s reaction to the Christ child. The Magi came to King Herod and told him that Jesus had been born. Herod then consulted the chief priests and teachers of the Old Testament law. He asked them where the Son of God was to be born. This means that Herod believed that Jesus actually might be God’s Son. Why else would he ask for Biblical evidence as to where the Messiah would be born unless he believed that Jesus just might be the Messiah?

The teachers actually quoted him a Bible verse. An Old Testament prophecy that serves as great evidence that Jesus is actually the Son of God.

And yet, even after all of this, Herod’s thoughts still turned to murder. He knew very well that he might be murdering the very Son of God, but he didn’t care. Herod was unaware that Joseph had taken Mary and Jesus and had escaped to Egypt. He gave orders to his troops to kill every boy in the vicinity of Bethlehem two years old and under…and that’s just what they did.

An attempt was made on Jesus’ young life. A lot of other babies died. And it was all because of gluttony. Herod lived in an opulent palace. He was surrounded with every luxury that money could buy and he was bent on keeping his power and his wealth.

When the Magi came and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” Herod was immediately furious. There was only one king of the Jews: namely him. His gluttony for power pushed him over the edge. Murdering toddler-age boys was all in a day’s work to feed his insatiable thirst for power.

Quite a contrast in our two stories: the shepherds and Herod. In the simple life of a shepherd, they were able to receive God’s message with gladness. They saw Jesus for who he was: the Messiah, sent from God as the salvation gift for all mankind.

In the gluttonous life of King Herod, he wasn’t able to see Jesus as God’s ultimate gift to us. Instead, the only thing that he could see was a threat. Jesus was a threat to his life of excess, and Herod was having none of that.

This is the message of Christmas. God is found in simplicity, but God is lost in gluttony.

In Herod, we see why gluttony is so dangerous. It does what all sins do: it separates us from God. Herod had just as much of a chance to worship Jesus as the shepherds did. He had just as much of a chance to be changed by Jesus as the shepherds were. But he was imprisoned by his sinful gluttony and it separated him from the very one who could have saved him.

Let’s go back to our focus text from Ecclesiastes: “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.” (Ecclesiastes 7:18, NIV)

The one who fears God will avoid gluttony and excessiveness because they know that these things separate them from God. In essence, what they fear the most is losing God.

The one who lives a self-centered, gluttonous lifestyle has a different fear. They’re afraid of losing the object of their gluttony. That perfectly explains the actions of King Herod, doesn’t it?

Now how should this affect the way we approach Christmas this year? If we believe the Biblical principle that God is found in simplicity, but God is lost in gluttony, how should that impact our holiday?

Let me answer that question with a question. Where does Christmas go to the excess for you or your family? If it’s the Christmas feast, then order a pizza instead. If it’s the holly, lights, trees, and other decorations, take them out and burn them.

But for most of us, the excess this Christmas will come in the form of gifts. All the kids are going to hate me for this, but parents, please hear this: What are you doing for your kids when you lavish them with an abundance of overpriced gifts? What are we teaching them when Christmas is the time that they receive the Wii or the Xbox 360 or the latest and most expensive i-gadget?

Now don’t get me wrong…one of my very favorite things in life is giving gifts to my son. I love it. I think parents are natural givers. We want to give to our children, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. You should be able to quote this principle by now. The sin is not in the gift giving. The sin is in the excess.

For parents, Christmas really represents a spiritual minefield. Some of our friends from a different church told us that their toddler son was listening to a teacher in their church’s children’s ministry. The teacher asked, “So what does Christmas really mean?” And immediately, their son perked up and shouted out, “Santa Claus!” And our friends said, “Whoa, we need to do something here.” And they started being more intentional about driving home the real reason for Christmas.

It’s really an uphill battle when it comes to our kids, but it’s a battle we’ve got to fight. The question that every parent has to ask is, “What am I teaching my kids with the gifts they receive?” And you are teaching them something. Make no mistake about it. “What am I teaching my kids with the gifts they receive? Am I teaching them God-honoring gratitude for what they receive or am I teaching them a self-honoring gluttony that expects these gifts?”

This goes way beyond how our children view Christmas. It’s really about how our children view Christ. Herod stands as proof that gluttony can easily cloud our view of Jesus. If you’re not very deep into your Christmas shopping yet, maybe you need to revisit the list of gifts you plan to buy. If you’re ahead of the game and you’re almost finished, do you have a few things that you should consider returning to the store?

Christmas in our culture has come to represent the desire to acquire gone haywire. What started as a celebration of simplicity has turned into a festival of gluttony. And if your family has gotten all tangled up in this mess, allow the truth of God’s Word to begin untying you.

Yes, you may to drop some traditions and develop some new ones. Yeah, this may require a little extra teaching for your kids. Teaching that they may not be terribly excited to hear. But Christmas is worth it. Scratch that. Christ is worth it.

There’s a great passage in Proverbs 23 that really hits where we are today. “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” (Proverbs 23:1-5, NIV)

Let’s unpack this a little bit. “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.” Bet you didn’t know that was in the Bible. A command to put a knife to your throat. The Bible often uses hyperbole, meaning that it overstates the case to make a point. The principle in this verse is simple: When there is gluttony in your life, you may have to take extreme measures to get rid of it. Some of you think I’m off my rocker trying to change your Christmas traditions. Think it if you want to. If there are excessive, gluttonous traditions in your Christmas holiday, I’m not the one who will be held accountable for that. You are.

But if this is resonating with you, listen to these words from Proverbs. If something in your family’s Christmas is going to the extreme, take whatever measures are necessary to cut it out. Stop the cycle of gluttony in the name of Christmas.

The proverb goes on. “Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.” The desire for the really good stuff, be it food or gifts, is so deceptive. Because we think that it’ll make us happy. We’ve all had that one gift that we wanted to badly. We were just sure that if we received this present, we’d be happy. What happened when you got it? It was a letdown, wasn’t it? I don’t care what it was, it ended up being a letdown. It didn’t live up to the hype. It is deceptive.

Going on in the proverb: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.” Don’t wear yourself out to get rich. How many of you are wearing yourself out chasing after the riches of Christmas? One of our members, Nancy Gates, told me that she was doing some Christmas shopping with her husband, Don, in Toys-R-Us and there was a lady screaming at one of the employees because she couldn’t find a Wii. And the Bible counters by saying, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.”

And the proverb wraps up with this: “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” The joy that comes from gluttony is temporary. Very temporary.

Last year, my then two-year-old son, Ryan, had a great time opening all his Christmas gifts. He loved seeing all the new presents come out of the packages. About an hour after he was finished opening all his presents, he was playing with the boxes that the toys came in. The joy of getting left as quickly as it came. That’s true for toddlers and teenagers, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas.

So what’s it going to be this Christmas? The holidays are just barely getting off the ground, so you’ve got time to ponder what Christmas is going to be in your family this year. Extreme and excessive? Greedy and gluttonous? Or will you opt for simplicity? Will you make it a celebration of family? Of gratitude? Of a God who loved us so much that he wrapped himself in the form of a baby and then gave us everything he had when he died on a cross?

Mike Edmisten

Tags: gluttony, Tangled in the Tinsel