I’ve witnessed several friends leave the faith. They have talked about the hypocrisy they experienced at the church.
One of my friends calls it ‘buffet Christianity’—when we pick and chose what sins we are willing to condemn and others we want forgiveness for.
I’m often stunned at how there are certain sins that we are so willing to call out and find scripture to quote to prove our point and yet, fail to see the shortcomings we have.
One of the sins that I’m guilty of along with so are many is gluttony. Gluttony is defined as “habitual greed or excess in eating.” I’ve used food at times to comfort me and in my pain, food can be the go-to instead of God.
Food can become our God, an idol. I’m stunned that as the body of Christ, we can call out those don’t live the way we do, but we don’t focus on issues like gluttony, greed, and murdering others with our tongues.
We host more church events that have fried food and sugar only to offer subsequent health fairs instead of addressing the root cause. We label gossip as just telling it like it is and sharing the truth—never mind how many reputations are destroyed.
We’ve pushed prosperity preaching without focusing on character, kindness, and helping others. It’s only about how much money we can make without realizing God wants your soul to prosper—and wants us to thrive in every area of our lives (3 John 2).
There are several scriptures that speak about those things that we tend to not discuss in the church:
Gluttony
“Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:19)
“Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat.” (Proverbs 23:20)
Gossip
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. (Proverbs 16:28)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29)
Greed
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
From my understanding, if we are going to call out others you better be prepared to look in the mirror and be honest about your faults and failures.
What’s causing so much chaos is the fact that we will not address those things that we think are small and yet, they can cause a separation from God’s plan for our lives and from those we interact with. Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”
It’s those little things that we ignore that can destroy the growth that God can provide and give to us. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:23-25) It’s not a buffet to pick what you want to follow and condemn what isn’t your issue.
Let’s all take a look in our mirrors and pay attention to those little things that steal the life we’ve been promised.
Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the host of the Tapestry Podcast and the author of three books for women. She is also the Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas. To learn more, visit drfroswa.com.
