[JoseLo]

Hello,
I just wanted to ask about something whivh is often on my mind, and I hope it does not offend anyone.

I am a Catholic. Maybe not the most traditional ever; I like to go partying like dance and drink at night, I am gay, things like this. But I believe I live a generally moral life and I believe in and LOVE Jesus, Maria. I pray often.

But, I think of the 7 deadly sins. I am over 200lbs overweight, I eat a LOT, sometimes to the point of bingeing. I'm not even hungry, I just like to and can't resist.

I worry that I am a really bad Catholic. I know we ALL sin, and this is just one of mine, but I fear one day I will be judged very hard for indulging in this so very often. I wonder if I can use this to help me stop eating too much.

Thankyou.
xxx

[tinkerbelll]

HI JoseLo

I am also a christian, I love God with all my heart and try to be the best person HE wants me to be. I've thought this way too about my weight and how gluttony is a sin, but theres so many different ways you can be a glutton, what gluttony means is over indulgence/over consumption in food, drinks, wealth, money..etc..to where your being greedy in whatever you're over indulging in.

SO i know how you feel, bc I have felt this way about my weight too, especially after eating an entire bag of chips or something, but nobody's perfect. We all sin every single day & will die with sin on our hands, but that is why Jesus died for our sins

I believe if in your heart and soul you truly want to change and in your heart you really don't want to do these things but you give in at times, and fall into temptation bc your weak (we all are), God knows. God knows your heart and knows if your genuine in how you feel when it comes to what your issue is. Its like that scripture Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This is why its so important to pray & have a relationship with God bc he will get you through it and the stronger your bond is with him, the better the chance is of you not giving into temptations.

You say that your worried about being judged so hard, so you've already taken the 1st step. Your having conviction to how you feel knowing that its wrong, and that's when you start making the change to be a better Christian and an all around better person too

God loves you so much and is such a forgiving and merciful God so please don't ever feel like your a "bad catholic" or not worthy just bc you messed up and sinned. Like I said (which you know) we all sin, have sinned, & will sin. & God knew this too, that's why he sent his son Jesus for us. Just work on your issues and try your best to change, which you can definitely do! Especially with God, you can do ANYTHING though Christ who strengthens you

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

JOSE ~ Tinkerbell gave you a really good answer, which I totally agree with. Remember that GOD sent JESUS to die on the cross, so that ALL people could be FORGIVEN for ALL sin (including "overeating") for ALL time. Just say the LORD'S PRAYER every day, and it covers forgiveness for any sin you might commit each day.

In the book of Romans, Chapter 7 -- PAUL talks about how weak our bodies are. "Wretched man that I am, who shall save me from this body of death? I thank GOD, through JESUS CHRIST, our LORD."

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation to them which are in CHRIST JESUS. (Romans 8:1) Just by asking JESUS CHRIST into your heart and life, you can be covered by the law of Grace (forgiveness). Claim this grace for yourself each and every day, JOSE. Then ask the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD to give you wisdom, power, and strength to help you be the best JOSE that you can be.

My husband is Catholic also; and he asked me a similar question. He also loves GOD and JESUS too, but was concerned becuz he felt that he made a lot of mistakes in his life. I explained that GOD knows all about his mistakes and weaknesses -- and to say the Lord's Prayer every day, which is what JESUS told us to pray, remember? In this prayer, you ask GOD to forgive you for all your tresspasses (sins, mistakes, errors, etc.)

Our Father, who art in heaven ...
Hallowed by thy name; Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Please give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our tresspasses as we
forgive those who tresspass against us
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory
Forever & ever, Amen.

Thankfully, GOD looks at our hearts. HE knows that in our minds, we want to be good, but our bodies disobey us. So, GOD sent JESUS to cover that weakness. Always remember, that GOD LOVES YOU, JOSE ...

[EagleRiverDee]

I just read an article about a pastor who lost 50 lbs because he felt his gluttony was affecting his ability to be the best pastor, father and husband he could be. The article went into how so few churches now discuss that we are supposed to treat our body like a temple of the Holy Spirit and how gluttony is a sin.

First, I want to say I believe that the Lord Jesus died for ALL our sins. I do believe that through your faith in the Lord you will be forgiven your sins, whatever they may be. But I also believe that the Spirit calls us to change and become better people. I have recently been praying for the Spirit to help me to overcome my own gluttony, because I have a tendency to eat much larger portions than my body needs. I know that I need help to make better choices about what I choose to eat, and how much I choose to eat. I truly believe that the Father will help us in this, if we ask.

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

DEE ~ I agree with what you are saying, up to a point ... gluttony is a sin just like any other sin (no worse; no better). Let's be honest, you can pray to change any and all sins til the cows come home, but will we be able to change all of our flaws; and will we all be able to become perfect?

NO -- and, the bible is clear on this too. That is just one of the reasons why JESUS came to die on the cross for all our sins, mistakes, flaws, weaknesses, errors, debts, wrongs, transgressions, and iniquities -- for anything that falls short of the perfect glory and goodness of GOD!

Some of us will be able to change some sins; and some of us will not be able to achieve that. Some will be able to lose weight, and some will not. Some people are able to quit smoking, and some won't. Will GOD keep them out of heaven becuz they overate, or they smoked? OR they told little white lies, or they cursed when angry? I don't think so. Jesus will cover those sins by his blood, which THANK GOD has already been shed for us.

Yes, by all means, ask GOD to give you the power and strength to help you change whatever you can in this lifetime -- BUT, for those things that you cannot change, also remember our LORD's words, "My Grace is sufficient for thee" ... 2 Corinthians 12:9.

[EagleRiverDee]

Originally Posted by Justwant2Bhealthy

DEE ~ I agree with what you are saying, up to a point ... gluttony is a sin just like any other sin (no worse; no better). Let's be honest, you can pray to change any and all sins til the cows come home, but will we be able to change all of our flaws; and will we all be able to become perfect?

NO -- and, the bible is clear on this too. That is just one of the reasons why JESUS came to die on the cross for all our sins, mistakes, flaws, weaknesses, errors, debts, wrongs, transgressions, and iniquities -- for anything that falls short of the perfect glory and goodness of GOD!

Some of us will be able to change some sins; and some of us will not be able to achieve that. Some will be able to lose weight, and some will not. Some people are able to quit smoking, and some won't. Will GOD keep them out of heaven becuz they overate, or they smoked? OR they told little white lies, or they cursed when angry? I don't think so. Jesus will cover those sins by his blood, which THANK GOD has already been shed for us.

Yes, by all means, ask GOD to give you the power and strength to help you change whatever you can in this lifetime -- BUT, for those things that you cannot change, also remember our LORD's words, "My Grace is sufficient for thee" ... 2 Corinthians 12:9.

I agree completely that we can never become perfect and must pray for strength and help to change, but also for forgiveness for what we cannot or do not change and even for those sins we commit that we aren't aware of. I wasn't trying to indicate that I thought we could be perfect. I apologize if something I said made you think I thought that.

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

THANKS, DEE for sharing that ~ I just want people to know that they are loved, and wanted, and cared about, and appreciated by GOD right now -- just the way they are, imperfections and all. GOD, through Christ, and his powerful Holy Spirit can then start the inner work that is needed that can lead to personal & spiritual improvement.

We've had some problems like this come up in churches here where people are literally being accosted, judged, ridiculed, and hurt by very insensitive comments by other Christians, even pastors. What is the result of that? They run out of the church, and away from GOD -- thinking that GOD doesn't want them or love them. They think they are too bad. One of our friends even left town over this.

I thank GOD that they found healing in another city and church, where they are loved and accepted the way they are; and with some time & help, they have improved their lives drastically. I've shared about this problem in the past; you may not have been here at the time.

Healing takes time; improvement takes work and time. We as Christians must accept & welcome people so that they can find GOD's love and grace. JESUS hung around the worst sinners of His day, and even HE was ridiculed for it. Like He said in Matthew 9:13, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentence!"

And oh, btw -- what did JESUS say to those "sinners" of that day? He told them the story of the Prodigal Son. The story of the young man who partied, and drank, and lived laciviously, and blew all his inheritance (his money) on wanton lusts until it was all spent and he was broke and starving. The story of how the Loving Father (GOD) welcomed him back home into his forgiving arms ... Luke 15.

[EZMONEY]

I think all of us here know we are sinners and will continue to sin even as we try and repent and turn from them...

it's all about the effort we put in that is going to matter..

we will never fully succeed...

but our relationship with Christ becomes closer as we try..

and we gain knowledge and strength along the way to help us.

We turn from our sins, as we can, because we know that God wants the best for us...

His LOVE for us is AMAZING!!!

[JoseLo]

Thank you all for your responses. I just know having Jesus in my life and loving Him makes me strong in many different ways. He loves me, not angry with me. Jesus loves us all even though we are sinners. I guess I just have to try my best!

I see what you mean about the body as a temple thing Dee... this I also feel a lot of guilt about, God made us in His image, and I fear I am abusing myself and therefore disrespecting God :/

[EagleRiverDee]

Originally Posted by JoseLo

Thank you all for your responses. I just know having Jesus in my life and loving Him makes me strong in many different ways. He loves me, not angry with me. Jesus loves us all even though we are sinners. I guess I just have to try my best!

I see what you mean about the body as a temple thing Dee... this I also feel a lot of guilt about, God made us in His image, and I fear I am abusing myself and therefore disrespecting God :/

We ALL struggle with it. Just last night I had a terrible night for controlling my eating. I'm going to try and use that as motivation today, and I'll be praying for the Lord to help me and give me the strength to overcome my weaknesses when it comes to food and snacking. We're in this struggle together!

[bargoo]

God loves everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, that includes the prisoner sitting on death row and, yes, even BinLaden. Anybody that thinks they may not be worthy of God's love should think on that. God loves Everybody, that includes you and me.