October 22, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode, we wrestle with the question, “Is overeating a sin?” and talk about how God isn’t counting bites, but instead inviting our hearts to trust Him more. We look at what Scripture actually says about gluttony, condemnation, and freedom in Christ by drawing from Proverbs, Philippians, Romans 14, and Romans 8. Together, we share real-life moments—like enjoying too much food at a party or stress-eating after a hard day—and show how these don’t have to lead to shame. Instead, we encourage a posture of “look and learn,” asking honest questions like, “Am I seeking comfort in food or in God?”
We also share practical tools that help shift our focus from rules to relationship with God: building a God List from Scripture, throwing a quick praise fest to reset, practicing gratitude to move from scarcity to sufficiency, and using breath prayers to center our hearts. These rhythms are not about policing your plate, but about steadying your soul so you can notice God’s gentle leadership in each moment. Our hope is to help you trade guilt for grace and find freedom meal by meal.
Learn more about our Revelation Within Community: https://www.revelationwithin.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within
on the Go.
I'm Heidi Bilesman Epis and oneof your hosts, and the owner and
the chief coach of theRevelationWithin.org ministry.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
And I'm Christina Botley, your other host, also
Revelation Within Coach, andHeidi Partner in all things
Revelation Within.
And we are so happy to inviteyou to join us for this episode
of Revelation Within.
(00:39):
And I just wanted to say a veryspecial thank you to Joylyn, who
does all the editing for ourpodcast, and who was worrying
and trying to fix about mehaving a squeaky chair.
So I have we have oiled thechair, and hopefully we are good
(01:00):
to go.
We love you, Joylyn.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Yes, definitely.
Okay, so today we're gonna talkabout a question that Christine
and I have been asked so manytimes.
So many times, many years.
Yes.
And it's one that may feel alittle bit uncomfortable,
though.
But we think it's reallyimportant to bring into the
light.
Are you ready to hear what itis?
(01:25):
I'm ready.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Let's go for it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:32):
All right.
Is overeating a sin?
Is overeating a sin?
Hot topic for the day.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Hot topics.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Yeah, that's a good one.
SPEAKER_01 (01:42):
Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_00 (01:44):
Well, I'm just gonna be straight with you.
This question often comes fromthe people who have spent time
in programs that have taughtthat one bite past just enough
is a sin and you are condemnedfor it.
Um, whether their message isexplicit or implicit, that one
bite past full thing being sin,it's what they convey to us.
(02:08):
And whether you've been in thatcamp or not, where you've been
taught and trained and it's beeningrained into you that one bite
past full is sin, or maybe youhave been ignorant of that.
That's that teaching that'sawesome.
But we're gonna talk about it.
We're gonna take this bull bythe horns right now.
Uh, we don't want to throw anyshadow on anyone's journey, but
(02:30):
we do want to dig into whatGod's word actually says.
And we think this is a fine timeto do it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:37):
Yes.
Well, and honestly, the heartbehind that question about
overeating and sin, it's usuallysomething deeper.
It's not just, is thistechnically a sin?
Really, it's more like, am Ifailing God every time I eat
more than I need?
(02:58):
Or how about this one?
And this one just makes mecringe.
Is God disappointed in me everyday, all the time?
I mean, every time this happens,is God disappointed in me?
I mean, that is a question thatI used to ask all the time.
SPEAKER_00 (03:17):
And I get that.
I've been there for years.
I treated full fullness or thatjust enough place like a moral
line.
And if I crossed it, shame wouldcome rushing in.
Yes.
But here's what God beganshowing me, and he continues to
show me He is more concernedwith the heart behind the habit
(03:40):
than the precise bite count orhow full your stomach is.
I have thought of it this way,and I continue to think of it
this way.
Really, if Jesus had just fiveminutes to sit with me on my
couch or walk with me throughthe park or whatever, and he
wanted to say things that werethe most on his heart to me.
(04:01):
Do I really think it'sconsistent with his character
and what I see in the gospels?
For him to say, now then, Heidi,about your eating, or do I think
he would say, Did you see thenumber on the scale today?
Or the size of pants you'rewearing?
What is going on with you, girl?
SPEAKER_02 (04:23):
No, that's not consistent with who Jesus said.
SPEAKER_00 (04:35):
That he would speak of his love for me, that he
showed that love on the cross,and that he wants me to
experience his joy even now.
I'm not sure that my eating orsize would come up at all in
five minutes with Jesus.
Maybe not even 20 minutes withJesus.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
I mean, not unless we brought it up, right?
Which I've done a million times.
We've got journals and journalsfull of it all.
Yeah, no, I burned those.
They're gone.
Because shame is not from God.
And I I'm so excited about whatwe have to share today.
Because, like you said, Heidi,that is not in line with God's
(05:14):
character.
Those those questions that youmentioned about size and number
on the scale and all thosethings.
One bite past.
Yeah.
I mean, I I love what I havelearned about God since I've
been on this journey of learninghow to renew my mind and on this
whole journey that I've been on.
(05:35):
It's been about 11 and a halfyears.
And I just I love what I'velearned about God, and we are so
excited about sharing this withyou.
So, okay, let's let's start witha really tough word, and it's a
word that gets tossed around.
It's a heavy word, and it isgluttony.
(05:56):
So let's go to Proverbs 23, 20,and 21.
Do not join those who drink toomuch wine or gorge themselves on
meat, for drunkards and gluttonsbecome poor, and drowsiness
clothes them in rags.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
Hmm, that's intense.
SPEAKER_01 (06:16):
Yeah.
And how about this one?
And Philippians 3:19 describespeople whose God is their
stomach.
So, yes, gluttony is treated inskip scripture as a serious
issue, but it's not just aboutthe amount of food, it's about
(06:37):
who or what is in charge.
SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
Yeah, I think, you know, for me, my stomach might
not be my God over the course oftime.
It has been more my taste, buds.
I bow to what they want over thecourse of time.
And and God has worked with mefor you know 25 years on that.
So in the Bible, gluttony isn'tjust eating too much.
Let's let's kind of be clear onthat.
(07:03):
It's about living withoutrestraint, placing what I
perceive as comfort over God,going to food instead of Him as
my comfort.
Interesting that He callsHimself the God of all comfort
and His Holy Spirit thecomforter.
Yes.
Or ignoring his gentleleadership.
(07:24):
And that is where it gets kindof sticky.
Then it's why I believe that thesin in overeating, if there is
sin there at all, is not theexcess itself, but it's
rejection of God's good, divine,holy leadership in that moment.
SPEAKER_01 (07:43):
Yes.
Yes, I love the way you saidthat, Heidi.
And I just have to share, whenyou said sticky, all of a sudden
I had this image of myself as alittle girl with one of those
candy necklaces on.
Did you ever have one of those?
Oh, I hated those.
Oh, because you know, you putthem up to your mouth and you
eat them like all day long, andthen you put it back on your
(08:05):
neck and it is sticky, sticky,sticky.
Uh, anyway, uh that just came tomind.
Okay, so we got to have a littlelevity here.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
Um, so we haven't had any yet.
unknown (08:17):
We haven't.
SPEAKER_01 (08:20):
Okay, so this brings us to the heart of spirit-led
eating, which we are so excitedto talk about and just enjoy
sharing.
We're not just asking, how muchis too much?
We're asking, Am I walking withJesus in this moment?
Wow, what a different question.
(08:42):
That's really, really different.
I love it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:45):
It really is.
And and let's just go to Romans14 23 for a moment.
It's a real powerful verse thatcan kind of anchor this
discussion.
In fact, I highly recommend agood read is Romans 14 all the
way through.
But yes, um, that thisparticular part of the passage
says everything that does notcome from faith is sin.
(09:07):
That's sobering.
That is really everything.
Everything, but it also reallyhelps, it reframes the issue a
little bit.
It's not about measuring sin byhow much we eat or how far past
a certain point, it's aboutwhether our choices are made in
faith, in connection with God.
(09:29):
And it's so cool that God wantsto be invited into this so much.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
He does, he really, really does.
So, how about let's let's trythis?
Let's try saying it this way.
If I'm choosing food because I'mnumbing pain, ignoring God, or
rebelling, well, that might besin because I may be rejecting
God's leadership in that moment.
But if I'm enjoying food withgratitude and it turns out that
(09:56):
I overate a little, that's notthe same thing.
God isn't nitpicking bites, He'slooking at our heart.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
Yeah.
And of course, we've mentionedin recent weeks 1 Samuel 16, 7,
and I love it for this contextas well.
1 Samuel 16, 7 says, Man looksat the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart.
And the heart he wants,honestly, is soft, teachable,
surrendered.
(10:25):
And that may not be perfect, itmay not mean that we are
operating in a perfect way.
We never slip past satisfied inour eating.
But where is our heart in this?
Is it soft, teachable,surrendered?
SPEAKER_01 (10:40):
I love that.
I love asking that question ofmyself.
Am I acting right now with asurrendered heart?
Am I submitted to Christ rightnow?
And if I'm not, let's talk aboutthat, Lord.
Let's figure it out.
Something is going on here thatwe need to talk about.
And I also love that you said,Heidi, not perfect.
We can't be perfect.
(11:01):
We can't.
And God knows that.
He knows that we're living in animperfect world and that we can
let go of perfection.
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
You know, it really, this kind of an aside, but it's
very related, of course.
I kind of think about those whohave been involved, and myself
and you included, yeah, in aprogram over the years that
taught us that it was a sinanytime you're one bite past
satisfied, that that was sin.
And I think about the heavyburden that that puts on us of
(11:34):
condemnation.
It's not conviction, it's notloving, it's full on
condemnation.
And we know what God says aboutcondemnation in his word that
there is no condemnation forthose of us who are in Christ.
That's Romans 8:1.
And that God sent his son intothe world not to condemn the
world, but that the world mightbe saved through him.
(11:57):
That's John 3 17.
And you know, there's so manymore, and I love quoting these
because it's like speaking truthto my own soul, and I always
need more truth.
But Romans 5 8 says, Goddemonstrates his love for us in
this, that while we were yetsinners, Christ died for us.
(12:17):
And he who did not hold anythingback from us, he gave us his own
son.
How will he not also, along withhim, graciously give us all
things?
I don't remember the exactaddress of that one, but that's
in one.
I love that truth.
That's beautiful.
Yes, there's no condemnation.
If no, if you listener, haveexperienced condemnation, either
(12:40):
that you've placed upon yourselfor that somebody else has placed
upon you for for food and eatingit all, really.
Ask God, Lord, is this from you?
Is this from you, or is thisfrom the mouth of somebody else,
a heart from somebody else?
And just see anyway.
Let's go ahead and look at someof these scenarios, these uh
(13:00):
real life ideas of walkingthrough the lens of spirit-led
eating.
Um scenario one, you're at aparty and you're having a great
time, you get distracted, theconversation is great, the
friends and family in attendanceare enjoyable, and you realize,
(13:20):
oh my goodness, my stomach achesa little bit.
I ate a little bit past thatjust enough amount.
Okay, so is that sin?
What do you think, Christina?
No, not necessarily.
SPEAKER_01 (13:31):
You know, it could be just kind of a human moment.
If I notice it and I turn toGod, Lord, thank you for showing
me.
Help me to tune in more nexttime, then even that moment
becomes one of growth.
And that's one of my favoritethings about this is that by
turning to God and talking withHim, which we call look and
(13:55):
learn, we are constantlygrowing, we're constantly
learning.
God is teaching us withoutcondemnation, without shame.
And all of that is gone.
It's just a moment of talkingwith God and growing.
And I love that.
That is so different than what Iused to believe.
(14:15):
You know, I used to go to Godand say, oh, you know, all these
terrible, awful, self-condemningthings.
And I think, oh, you must be sodisappointed.
I did it again and again.
And I just, I just stopped goingto him, is what happened a lot
of times.
I would just take a break.
But now I know that every time Iturn to God, he greets me with
(14:36):
compassion and joy.
He's excited, his eyes aresparkling, he's grinning ear to
ear.
He can't wait for me to turn andtalk with him.
And it's good, it's life-giving,it's growth.
And so I love thinking of itthat way.
SPEAKER_00 (14:52):
Yes, me too.
All right, let's do another one.
Scenario number two.
You have had a terrible day.
And instead of taking youremotions to the Lord, you open
the pantry and check out.
See ya.
SPEAKER_02 (15:07):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (15:07):
Now, maybe that moment reveals a deeper
invitation to repentance, notbecause of the food, but because
of who we're turning to forhelp.
And what might look and learnlook like in this situation,
Christina.
I uh had a tough day.
And instead of checking in withthe Lord, I open the cabinet and
go bonkers over what's in there.
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
Well, that's what I used to do every single day.
Really, every single day, I didthat for many, many, many years.
I was sharing with one of ourone of our groups in the
community the other day.
My first go-to over stress oroverwhelm or anything bad was
the pantry.
My second was call a friend.
(15:51):
And God was waiting, he wasready, he was patient, he was
waiting for me to turn to him,but I was going straight to the
counterfeits.
Not that a friend is acounterfeit, but I wasn't going
to the place where my one truecomfort was.
God is the only one that canreally, really make things
(16:13):
better in a situation like that.
His truth, his comfort, there'snothing that matches it.
So a look and learn would bewow, I need to do something
before I get home to preparebecause I've got this pattern
going on.
Lord, help me with this.
I want this pattern to bebroken.
(16:35):
And so I need to renew my mindabout the stress that I'm
dealing with, about thedifficulty, whatever it is.
You know, I taught elementaryschool for years, and even my
very, very best days werecompletely exhausting.
And I loved what I did.
But every day I came home atthis really high level of stress
(16:58):
kind of thing.
You know, there was just so muchto do, and it was lots and lots
going on with the kids, and Iloved every minute, but I
realized that I had to dosomething different to change
this pattern.
And so I remember at the timetalking with God about it, and
he gave me the idea.
It came into my mind, how abouttake a little drive before you
(17:21):
get home?
And let's you and me talk aboutyour day.
Let's process your feelingstogether.
Maybe 10 minutes, maybe 20.
Doesn't have to be anything big.
Um, and then I would get home,of course, and my own kids were
school age, and there wereplenty of needs there.
So I'd be very distracted and Iwould just eat.
But this way I had 10, 20minutes with the Lord.
(17:44):
And by the time I got home, andthen I was also renewing my mind
about what was true about thestress of the day, what was true
about going home, what was trueabout going to food when I'm not
hungry and my body didn't needextra food.
And so by the time I got home, Iwas calmed down.
I was my heart rate was comingway down.
(18:06):
I was, you know, focused on theLord, who he is, what he can do
for me, his comfort, his love.
And I was ready to walk in thehouse and handle my own family
and let go of the stress of theday at work.
And I had already gone to himfor comfort.
And so that pull to the pantryhad come way, way down.
(18:28):
I didn't need that anymore.
I had already gone to the sourceof all comfort.
And now it wasn't a quick fix.
It took weeks and even months tobreak that pattern.
But once it was broken, it wasdefinitely broken.
Every so often it would come upagain.
But I knew just what to do.
Let's go for a drive or a walk,Lord, and let's deal with this.
(18:51):
I want to deal with it with youfirst because he is my true
comfort.
SPEAKER_00 (18:56):
And so, in the moment when you can choose to go
for your little drive if youwanted to, or to just sit in the
driveway in your car or whateverit might be, yes, so that you
can check in with him.
If you are in the position whereyou say, No, I don't feel like
doing it, I don't need to dothat, and you go on into the
(19:16):
house.
In that moment, it might be wiseto ask God to show you, am I
responding to your leadership oram I turning my back on you?
Because before a bite of foodeven crosses your lips, that
might indicate that your hearthas turned away from God.
And that is where we have tolook.
Is this sin?
Yeah, maybe so.
(19:37):
Right.
Maybe so.
It doesn't take food to be sin.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
Right.
Absolutely.
I want to be surrendered towhatever he is calling me to.
But yeah, there's times when I'mnot.
Absolutely not.
Of course, we're human.
This is our walk with the Lord.
And that's why I love look andlearn so much.
Because we can go to God andsay, something's up, Lord.
(20:04):
I'm pushing against you rightnow.
And I'm not sure even why.
Will you help me to see it?
I want to have a surrenderedheart.
Help me to have that.
We we can't do it on our own.
We can't do it on our own.
We all know that feeling ofpushing against God for some
reason.
Maybe it's fear, maybe it'sanxious thoughts, you know,
(20:26):
maybe it's that difficult newsyou got earlier in the day.
Maybe it's that coworker at workor whatever it is.
There's a million things thatcan cause us to kind of stop and
push.
SPEAKER_00 (20:38):
And what we're even talking about is that moment
when perhaps repentance iswhat's needed.
And we have this tendency tothink of it like a punishment
when it's actually aninvitation.
SPEAKER_01 (20:52):
Yes.
Romans 2:4 tells us God'skindness is intended to lead you
to repentance.
That is so beautiful.
It's his kindness that's leadingus to repentance.
I mean, is that mind-blowing forsomebody out there?
It was for me.
Um I, yeah, that was not the wayI was thinking of repentance for
(21:15):
a long, long time.
SPEAKER_00 (21:17):
And of course, what we've been talking about with
look and learn is another way ofthinking about repentance,
really.
Yes.
And God is inviting us to drawclose, and we come to him
because of his kindness, and weinvite him to show us what we
need to do differently the nexttime so that we can experience
his victory.
(21:38):
I love that.
He doesn't shame us intorepentance, he woos us with his
kindness.
When we see how deeply he lovesus, we want to turn toward him.
I don't know how many times wecould say this, but it's not,
it's not a punishment, it's nota wagging finger.
Shame on you.
You need to take care of thissin in your life.
(21:59):
It's an invitation.
Yes, and remember Psalm 51.
We talked about it a few weeksago.
David's heartfelt prayer ofrepentance.
He doesn't say, God, I'll dobetter next time.
He says, Create in me, God,create in me a clean heart and
renew a right spirit within me.
That's Psalm 51, 10.
(22:19):
And that's what we want.
We want a right spirit, arenewed mind, a soft heart.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
Well, and those of us that have been walking with
the Lord for a while, we knowhow that feels.
It feels so good to live andwalk with the Lord with a right
spirit, a renewed mind, a softheart.
That feels good.
That brings life, that bringspeace.
Um, even in the most difficultsituations, especially in the
(22:47):
most difficult situations.
That's where we want to live asmuch as possible.
That feels amazing.
Okay, so back to the originalquestion is overeating a sin?
So the answer is it depends.
What is motivating it?
Who are we turning to?
(23:09):
What is happening in our hearts?
SPEAKER_00 (23:13):
If it's done in rebellion or with a desire to
escape from reality, or maybeit's done in pride, like I can
take care of this myself, God.
Yes, there definitely could besin to repent of.
And again, it says kindness thatleads us to repentance.
But if it's done in a moment ofdistraction or habit or stress,
it might really just be anopportunity to renew our minds,
(23:37):
receive grace, start again, noshame, no fear.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (23:41):
This is why we at Revelation Within we focus so
much on the renewing of themind.
I mean, this is really the key.
This is the key to any kind ofreal heart transformation.
If we don't renew our minds withGod's truth, our old patterns
will continue to run the show.
And I know that's been true inmy life.
(24:03):
And you have probablyexperienced that as well out
there.
But when we soak in his word,remember who he is, and tune
into the spirit, we change fromthe inside out.
SPEAKER_00 (24:20):
So we'll go ahead and and share a couple of tools
that we recommend for walkingthis out.
We've talked about mind renewaltools on the podcast many, many,
many, many times.
SPEAKER_01 (24:30):
Many, many, many times.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
But this practically speaking, if you're concerned
about your perspective on foodand eating and am I in sin or
not, you know, get to know whoGod is, what he's like.
I know most of us say, I alreadyknow who God is, I know what
he's like, but trust me on this.
The God list is a great place torefresh your memory, maybe.
(24:54):
Remind yourself of who God isand see what the word says about
his character, his attributes,what he does for people.
And then read that list againand again and again.
And especially when you feelweak, it can be super helpful to
redirect your attention to theLord and how awesome he is.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
So, and then there the praise fest comes next.
So, fest like festival.
This is when we speak out loudGod's attributes and acts.
You can use the God list or onthe fly, you can do this easily.
A praise fest is just praisingGod for who he is.
So, for example, God, you are myredeemer.
(25:38):
God, you are my strength.
God, you are all knowing.
You have all the wisdom.
God, you are everything I need.
God, you provide for mefaithfully without fail.
And so we're praising him forwho he is, and it turns our
hearts toward him, softens ourhearts, brings us to a place of
(26:00):
surrender.
It really does.
It's just an amazing tool.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
You could also jot down or just pray gratitude.
It can shift our focus totallyfrom thinking about food to just
celebrating the many ways Godblesses our lives with his
abundance, really.
So that's the God list, praisefest, gratitude journaling.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
And then breath prayers is is another one that
we'd love to get you started onif you haven't done these
before.
Basically, it's just breathingin and out and saying God's
truth.
It could be a verse from theBible or a part of a verse, or
it could be a truth that linesup with scripture.
So here's an example.
We're gonna inhale and say,Lord, you are my portion.
(26:49):
And then we're gonna exhale andsay, I need nothing more.
Let's try that one together.
Inhale and say, Lord, you are myportion.
Exhale and say, I need nothingmore.
(27:16):
Um, you can do breath prayersagain and again, and there are a
bazillion different ways thatyou can use these, you know,
different truths and scripturethat you can put in those uh
beautiful way to calm your bodyand renew your mind at the same
time.
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
Yeah, one of the things about breath prayers is
so very often the state of mindand state of our bodies that
takes us to eat mindlessly andto be willing to compromise the
standard that we have for oureating has to do with this amped
up, um, agitated kind of placethat we're in.
(27:54):
And breath prayers kind of zeroin on that physiologically.
If you can, if I can do evenjust 90 seconds of breath
praying, we will find that wemay not even want to overeat at
that point anymore because ourbody has calmed down, our blood
pressure has gone back tonormal, our heart rate is has
(28:16):
gotten slower again, and thateverything is just more
peaceful.
So it's a really good way ofpractically speaking, not just
renewing our minds, but alsogetting our bodies back to that
place of peace.
And that's what Christina wassaying, of course.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
Yeah.
So, friends, God isn't watchingyour plate, he's watching your
heart, and he's not countingyour bites, he's inviting you
into deeper trust.
That's who God is.
SPEAKER_00 (28:50):
So when you find yourself overeating, avoid that
spiral thing.
Just ask, okay, am I listeningto the Holy Spirit?
Am I seeking comfort in foodinstead of you, Lord?
I like to ask him.
And is this an opportunity maybeto renew my mind, to look and
learn, to repent, to realignwith your goodness?
(29:13):
If so, would you show me whatthat can look like right now?
You know, that invitation isthere.
It's a grace-fueledtransformation, yes, not
shame-fueled performance.
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
That is such a relief.
An invitation for a grace-fueledtransformation.
Oh, I love that.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Well, we hope this episode has brought some clarity
to you.
Not hopefully, definitely, notcondemnation.
SPEAKER_02 (29:42):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:43):
You are longing to live more freely and fully in
your body, your thoughts, yourmeals.
We want to invite you to join usinside our community at
revelationwithin.org.
That's where you'll find out allabout it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:57):
Yeah.
You know what?
You'll find a community of Womenwho are walking this very same
road, receiving grace, renewingour minds, and learning to
follow the spirit, not foodrules.
And they are amazing women,aren't they, Heidi?
SPEAKER_00 (30:14):
Yes, yes, we have an amazing community, and you'd be
welcome to join in.
We would love for you to join.
We do have some brave men theretoo, but it's mostly women.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
It is, and the first month is free, so you can just
come and join us and explore andsee what we're about.
Yeah.
So we're so glad that you'vebeen here today, and we would
love to invite you to come forour next episode of Revelation
Within All Bye.
(30:50):
See you next time.
Bye for now.
Bye bye.
Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within
on the Go.
I'm Heidi Bilesman Epis and oneof your hosts, and the owner and
the chief coach of theRevelationWithin.org ministry.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
And I'm Christina Botley, your other host, also
Revelation Within Coach, andHeidi Partner in all things
Revelation Within.
And we are so happy to inviteyou to join us for this episode
of Revelation Within.
(00:39):
And I just wanted to say a veryspecial thank you to Joylyn, who
does all the editing for ourpodcast, and who was worrying
and trying to fix about mehaving a squeaky chair.
So I have we have oiled thechair, and hopefully we are good
(01:00):
to go.
We love you, Joylyn.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Yes, definitely.
Okay, so today we're gonna talkabout a question that Christine
and I have been asked so manytimes.
So many times, many years.
Yes.
And it's one that may feel alittle bit uncomfortable,
though.
But we think it's reallyimportant to bring into the
light.
Are you ready to hear what itis?
(01:25):
I'm ready.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Let's go for it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:32):
All right.
Is overeating a sin?
Is overeating a sin?
Hot topic for the day.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
Hot topics.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Yeah, that's a good one.
SPEAKER_01 (01:42):
Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_00 (01:44):
Well, I'm just gonna be straight with you.
This question often comes fromthe people who have spent time
in programs that have taughtthat one bite past just enough
is a sin and you are condemnedfor it.
Um, whether their message isexplicit or implicit, that one
bite past full thing being sin,it's what they convey to us.
(02:08):
And whether you've been in thatcamp or not, where you've been
taught and trained and it's beeningrained into you that one bite
past full is sin, or maybe youhave been ignorant of that.
That's that teaching that'sawesome.
But we're gonna talk about it.
We're gonna take this bull bythe horns right now.
Uh, we don't want to throw anyshadow on anyone's journey, but
(02:30):
we do want to dig into whatGod's word actually says.
And we think this is a fine timeto do it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:37):
Yes.
Well, and honestly, the heartbehind that question about
overeating and sin, it's usuallysomething deeper.
It's not just, is thistechnically a sin?
Really, it's more like, am Ifailing God every time I eat
more than I need?
(02:58):
Or how about this one?
And this one just makes mecringe.
Is God disappointed in me everyday, all the time?
I mean, every time this happens,is God disappointed in me?
I mean, that is a question thatI used to ask all the time.
SPEAKER_00 (03:17):
And I get that.
I've been there for years.
I treated full fullness or thatjust enough place like a moral
line.
And if I crossed it, shame wouldcome rushing in.
Yes.
But here's what God beganshowing me, and he continues to
show me He is more concernedwith the heart behind the habit
(03:40):
than the precise bite count orhow full your stomach is.
I have thought of it this way,and I continue to think of it
this way.
Really, if Jesus had just fiveminutes to sit with me on my
couch or walk with me throughthe park or whatever, and he
wanted to say things that werethe most on his heart to me.
(04:01):
Do I really think it'sconsistent with his character
and what I see in the gospels?
For him to say, now then, Heidi,about your eating, or do I think
he would say, Did you see thenumber on the scale today?
Or the size of pants you'rewearing?
What is going on with you, girl?
SPEAKER_02 (04:23):
No, that's not consistent with who Jesus said.
SPEAKER_00 (04:35):
That he would speak of his love for me, that he
showed that love on the cross,and that he wants me to
experience his joy even now.
I'm not sure that my eating orsize would come up at all in
five minutes with Jesus.
Maybe not even 20 minutes withJesus.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
I mean, not unless we brought it up, right?
Which I've done a million times.
We've got journals and journalsfull of it all.
Yeah, no, I burned those.
They're gone.
Because shame is not from God.
And I I'm so excited about whatwe have to share today.
Because, like you said, Heidi,that is not in line with God's
(05:14):
character.
Those those questions that youmentioned about size and number
on the scale and all thosethings.
One bite past.
Yeah.
I mean, I I love what I havelearned about God since I've
been on this journey of learninghow to renew my mind and on this
whole journey that I've been on.
(05:35):
It's been about 11 and a halfyears.
And I just I love what I'velearned about God, and we are so
excited about sharing this withyou.
So, okay, let's let's start witha really tough word, and it's a
word that gets tossed around.
It's a heavy word, and it isgluttony.
(05:56):
So let's go to Proverbs 23, 20,and 21.
Do not join those who drink toomuch wine or gorge themselves on
meat, for drunkards and gluttonsbecome poor, and drowsiness
clothes them in rags.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
Hmm, that's intense.
SPEAKER_01 (06:16):
Yeah.
And how about this one?
And Philippians 3:19 describespeople whose God is their
stomach.
So, yes, gluttony is treated inskip scripture as a serious
issue, but it's not just aboutthe amount of food, it's about
(06:37):
who or what is in charge.
SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
Yeah, I think, you know, for me, my stomach might
not be my God over the course oftime.
It has been more my taste, buds.
I bow to what they want over thecourse of time.
And and God has worked with mefor you know 25 years on that.
So in the Bible, gluttony isn'tjust eating too much.
Let's let's kind of be clear onthat.
(07:03):
It's about living withoutrestraint, placing what I
perceive as comfort over God,going to food instead of Him as
my comfort.
Interesting that He callsHimself the God of all comfort
and His Holy Spirit thecomforter.
Yes.
Or ignoring his gentleleadership.
(07:24):
And that is where it gets kindof sticky.
Then it's why I believe that thesin in overeating, if there is
sin there at all, is not theexcess itself, but it's
rejection of God's good, divine,holy leadership in that moment.
SPEAKER_01 (07:43):
Yes.
Yes, I love the way you saidthat, Heidi.
And I just have to share, whenyou said sticky, all of a sudden
I had this image of myself as alittle girl with one of those
candy necklaces on.
Did you ever have one of those?
Oh, I hated those.
Oh, because you know, you putthem up to your mouth and you
eat them like all day long, andthen you put it back on your
(08:05):
neck and it is sticky, sticky,sticky.
Uh, anyway, uh that just came tomind.
Okay, so we got to have a littlelevity here.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
Um, so we haven't had any yet.
unknown (08:17):
We haven't.
SPEAKER_01 (08:20):
Okay, so this brings us to the heart of spirit-led
eating, which we are so excitedto talk about and just enjoy
sharing.
We're not just asking, how muchis too much?
We're asking, Am I walking withJesus in this moment?
Wow, what a different question.
(08:42):
That's really, really different.
I love it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:45):
It really is.
And and let's just go to Romans14 23 for a moment.
It's a real powerful verse thatcan kind of anchor this
discussion.
In fact, I highly recommend agood read is Romans 14 all the
way through.
But yes, um, that thisparticular part of the passage
says everything that does notcome from faith is sin.
(09:07):
That's sobering.
That is really everything.
Everything, but it also reallyhelps, it reframes the issue a
little bit.
It's not about measuring sin byhow much we eat or how far past
a certain point, it's aboutwhether our choices are made in
faith, in connection with God.
(09:29):
And it's so cool that God wantsto be invited into this so much.
SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
He does, he really, really does.
So, how about let's let's trythis?
Let's try saying it this way.
If I'm choosing food because I'mnumbing pain, ignoring God, or
rebelling, well, that might besin because I may be rejecting
God's leadership in that moment.
But if I'm enjoying food withgratitude and it turns out that
(09:56):
I overate a little, that's notthe same thing.
God isn't nitpicking bites, He'slooking at our heart.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
Yeah.
And of course, we've mentionedin recent weeks 1 Samuel 16, 7,
and I love it for this contextas well.
1 Samuel 16, 7 says, Man looksat the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart.
And the heart he wants,honestly, is soft, teachable,
surrendered.
(10:25):
And that may not be perfect, itmay not mean that we are
operating in a perfect way.
We never slip past satisfied inour eating.
But where is our heart in this?
Is it soft, teachable,surrendered?
SPEAKER_01 (10:40):
I love that.
I love asking that question ofmyself.
Am I acting right now with asurrendered heart?
Am I submitted to Christ rightnow?
And if I'm not, let's talk aboutthat, Lord.
Let's figure it out.
Something is going on here thatwe need to talk about.
And I also love that you said,Heidi, not perfect.
We can't be perfect.
(11:01):
We can't.
And God knows that.
He knows that we're living in animperfect world and that we can
let go of perfection.
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
You know, it really, this kind of an aside, but it's
very related, of course.
I kind of think about those whohave been involved, and myself
and you included, yeah, in aprogram over the years that
taught us that it was a sinanytime you're one bite past
satisfied, that that was sin.
And I think about the heavyburden that that puts on us of
(11:34):
condemnation.
It's not conviction, it's notloving, it's full on
condemnation.
And we know what God says aboutcondemnation in his word that
there is no condemnation forthose of us who are in Christ.
That's Romans 8:1.
And that God sent his son intothe world not to condemn the
world, but that the world mightbe saved through him.
(11:57):
That's John 3 17.
And you know, there's so manymore, and I love quoting these
because it's like speaking truthto my own soul, and I always
need more truth.
But Romans 5 8 says, Goddemonstrates his love for us in
this, that while we were yetsinners, Christ died for us.
(12:17):
And he who did not hold anythingback from us, he gave us his own
son.
How will he not also, along withhim, graciously give us all
things?
I don't remember the exactaddress of that one, but that's
in one.
I love that truth.
That's beautiful.
Yes, there's no condemnation.
If no, if you listener, haveexperienced condemnation, either
(12:40):
that you've placed upon yourselfor that somebody else has placed
upon you for for food and eatingit all, really.
Ask God, Lord, is this from you?
Is this from you, or is thisfrom the mouth of somebody else,
a heart from somebody else?
And just see anyway.
Let's go ahead and look at someof these scenarios, these uh
(13:00):
real life ideas of walkingthrough the lens of spirit-led
eating.
Um scenario one, you're at aparty and you're having a great
time, you get distracted, theconversation is great, the
friends and family in attendanceare enjoyable, and you realize,
(13:20):
oh my goodness, my stomach achesa little bit.
I ate a little bit past thatjust enough amount.
Okay, so is that sin?
What do you think, Christina?
No, not necessarily.
SPEAKER_01 (13:31):
You know, it could be just kind of a human moment.
If I notice it and I turn toGod, Lord, thank you for showing
me.
Help me to tune in more nexttime, then even that moment
becomes one of growth.
And that's one of my favoritethings about this is that by
turning to God and talking withHim, which we call look and
(13:55):
learn, we are constantlygrowing, we're constantly
learning.
God is teaching us withoutcondemnation, without shame.
And all of that is gone.
It's just a moment of talkingwith God and growing.
And I love that.
That is so different than what Iused to believe.
(14:15):
You know, I used to go to Godand say, oh, you know, all these
terrible, awful, self-condemningthings.
And I think, oh, you must be sodisappointed.
I did it again and again.
And I just, I just stopped goingto him, is what happened a lot
of times.
I would just take a break.
But now I know that every time Iturn to God, he greets me with
(14:36):
compassion and joy.
He's excited, his eyes aresparkling, he's grinning ear to
ear.
He can't wait for me to turn andtalk with him.
And it's good, it's life-giving,it's growth.
And so I love thinking of itthat way.
SPEAKER_00 (14:52):
Yes, me too.
All right, let's do another one.
Scenario number two.
You have had a terrible day.
And instead of taking youremotions to the Lord, you open
the pantry and check out.
See ya.
SPEAKER_02 (15:07):
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (15:07):
Now, maybe that moment reveals a deeper
invitation to repentance, notbecause of the food, but because
of who we're turning to forhelp.
And what might look and learnlook like in this situation,
Christina.
I uh had a tough day.
And instead of checking in withthe Lord, I open the cabinet and
go bonkers over what's in there.
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
Well, that's what I used to do every single day.
Really, every single day, I didthat for many, many, many years.
I was sharing with one of ourone of our groups in the
community the other day.
My first go-to over stress oroverwhelm or anything bad was
the pantry.
My second was call a friend.
(15:51):
And God was waiting, he wasready, he was patient, he was
waiting for me to turn to him,but I was going straight to the
counterfeits.
Not that a friend is acounterfeit, but I wasn't going
to the place where my one truecomfort was.
God is the only one that canreally, really make things
(16:13):
better in a situation like that.
His truth, his comfort, there'snothing that matches it.
So a look and learn would bewow, I need to do something
before I get home to preparebecause I've got this pattern
going on.
Lord, help me with this.
I want this pattern to bebroken.
(16:35):
And so I need to renew my mindabout the stress that I'm
dealing with, about thedifficulty, whatever it is.
You know, I taught elementaryschool for years, and even my
very, very best days werecompletely exhausting.
And I loved what I did.
But every day I came home atthis really high level of stress
(16:58):
kind of thing.
You know, there was just so muchto do, and it was lots and lots
going on with the kids, and Iloved every minute, but I
realized that I had to dosomething different to change
this pattern.
And so I remember at the timetalking with God about it, and
he gave me the idea.
It came into my mind, how abouttake a little drive before you
(17:21):
get home?
And let's you and me talk aboutyour day.
Let's process your feelingstogether.
Maybe 10 minutes, maybe 20.
Doesn't have to be anything big.
Um, and then I would get home,of course, and my own kids were
school age, and there wereplenty of needs there.
So I'd be very distracted and Iwould just eat.
But this way I had 10, 20minutes with the Lord.
(17:44):
And by the time I got home, andthen I was also renewing my mind
about what was true about thestress of the day, what was true
about going home, what was trueabout going to food when I'm not
hungry and my body didn't needextra food.
And so by the time I got home, Iwas calmed down.
I was my heart rate was comingway down.
(18:06):
I was, you know, focused on theLord, who he is, what he can do
for me, his comfort, his love.
And I was ready to walk in thehouse and handle my own family
and let go of the stress of theday at work.
And I had already gone to himfor comfort.
And so that pull to the pantryhad come way, way down.
(18:28):
I didn't need that anymore.
I had already gone to the sourceof all comfort.
And now it wasn't a quick fix.
It took weeks and even months tobreak that pattern.
But once it was broken, it wasdefinitely broken.
Every so often it would come upagain.
But I knew just what to do.
Let's go for a drive or a walk,Lord, and let's deal with this.
(18:51):
I want to deal with it with youfirst because he is my true
comfort.
SPEAKER_00 (18:56):
And so, in the moment when you can choose to go
for your little drive if youwanted to, or to just sit in the
driveway in your car or whateverit might be, yes, so that you
can check in with him.
If you are in the position whereyou say, No, I don't feel like
doing it, I don't need to dothat, and you go on into the
(19:16):
house.
In that moment, it might be wiseto ask God to show you, am I
responding to your leadership oram I turning my back on you?
Because before a bite of foodeven crosses your lips, that
might indicate that your hearthas turned away from God.
And that is where we have tolook.
Is this sin?
Yeah, maybe so.
(19:37):
Right.
Maybe so.
It doesn't take food to be sin.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
Right.
Absolutely.
I want to be surrendered towhatever he is calling me to.
But yeah, there's times when I'mnot.
Absolutely not.
Of course, we're human.
This is our walk with the Lord.
And that's why I love look andlearn so much.
Because we can go to God andsay, something's up, Lord.
(20:04):
I'm pushing against you rightnow.
And I'm not sure even why.
Will you help me to see it?
I want to have a surrenderedheart.
Help me to have that.
We we can't do it on our own.
We can't do it on our own.
We all know that feeling ofpushing against God for some
reason.
Maybe it's fear, maybe it'sanxious thoughts, you know,
(20:26):
maybe it's that difficult newsyou got earlier in the day.
Maybe it's that coworker at workor whatever it is.
There's a million things thatcan cause us to kind of stop and
push.
SPEAKER_00 (20:38):
And what we're even talking about is that moment
when perhaps repentance iswhat's needed.
And we have this tendency tothink of it like a punishment
when it's actually aninvitation.
SPEAKER_01 (20:52):
Yes.
Romans 2:4 tells us God'skindness is intended to lead you
to repentance.
That is so beautiful.
It's his kindness that's leadingus to repentance.
I mean, is that mind-blowing forsomebody out there?
It was for me.
Um I, yeah, that was not the wayI was thinking of repentance for
(21:15):
a long, long time.
SPEAKER_00 (21:17):
And of course, what we've been talking about with
look and learn is another way ofthinking about repentance,
really.
Yes.
And God is inviting us to drawclose, and we come to him
because of his kindness, and weinvite him to show us what we
need to do differently the nexttime so that we can experience
his victory.
(21:38):
I love that.
He doesn't shame us intorepentance, he woos us with his
kindness.
When we see how deeply he lovesus, we want to turn toward him.
I don't know how many times wecould say this, but it's not,
it's not a punishment, it's nota wagging finger.
Shame on you.
You need to take care of thissin in your life.
(21:59):
It's an invitation.
Yes, and remember Psalm 51.
We talked about it a few weeksago.
David's heartfelt prayer ofrepentance.
He doesn't say, God, I'll dobetter next time.
He says, Create in me, God,create in me a clean heart and
renew a right spirit within me.
That's Psalm 51, 10.
(22:19):
And that's what we want.
We want a right spirit, arenewed mind, a soft heart.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
Well, and those of us that have been walking with
the Lord for a while, we knowhow that feels.
It feels so good to live andwalk with the Lord with a right
spirit, a renewed mind, a softheart.
That feels good.
That brings life, that bringspeace.
Um, even in the most difficultsituations, especially in the
(22:47):
most difficult situations.
That's where we want to live asmuch as possible.
That feels amazing.
Okay, so back to the originalquestion is overeating a sin?
So the answer is it depends.
What is motivating it?
Who are we turning to?
(23:09):
What is happening in our hearts?
SPEAKER_00 (23:13):
If it's done in rebellion or with a desire to
escape from reality, or maybeit's done in pride, like I can
take care of this myself, God.
Yes, there definitely could besin to repent of.
And again, it says kindness thatleads us to repentance.
But if it's done in a moment ofdistraction or habit or stress,
it might really just be anopportunity to renew our minds,
(23:37):
receive grace, start again, noshame, no fear.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (23:41):
This is why we at Revelation Within we focus so
much on the renewing of themind.
I mean, this is really the key.
This is the key to any kind ofreal heart transformation.
If we don't renew our minds withGod's truth, our old patterns
will continue to run the show.
And I know that's been true inmy life.
(24:03):
And you have probablyexperienced that as well out
there.
But when we soak in his word,remember who he is, and tune
into the spirit, we change fromthe inside out.
SPEAKER_00 (24:20):
So we'll go ahead and and share a couple of tools
that we recommend for walkingthis out.
We've talked about mind renewaltools on the podcast many, many,
many, many times.
SPEAKER_01 (24:30):
Many, many, many times.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:32):
But this practically speaking, if you're concerned
about your perspective on foodand eating and am I in sin or
not, you know, get to know whoGod is, what he's like.
I know most of us say, I alreadyknow who God is, I know what
he's like, but trust me on this.
The God list is a great place torefresh your memory, maybe.
(24:54):
Remind yourself of who God isand see what the word says about
his character, his attributes,what he does for people.
And then read that list againand again and again.
And especially when you feelweak, it can be super helpful to
redirect your attention to theLord and how awesome he is.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
So, and then there the praise fest comes next.
So, fest like festival.
This is when we speak out loudGod's attributes and acts.
You can use the God list or onthe fly, you can do this easily.
A praise fest is just praisingGod for who he is.
So, for example, God, you are myredeemer.
(25:38):
God, you are my strength.
God, you are all knowing.
You have all the wisdom.
God, you are everything I need.
God, you provide for mefaithfully without fail.
And so we're praising him forwho he is, and it turns our
hearts toward him, softens ourhearts, brings us to a place of
(26:00):
surrender.
It really does.
It's just an amazing tool.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
You could also jot down or just pray gratitude.
It can shift our focus totallyfrom thinking about food to just
celebrating the many ways Godblesses our lives with his
abundance, really.
So that's the God list, praisefest, gratitude journaling.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
And then breath prayers is is another one that
we'd love to get you started onif you haven't done these
before.
Basically, it's just breathingin and out and saying God's
truth.
It could be a verse from theBible or a part of a verse, or
it could be a truth that linesup with scripture.
So here's an example.
We're gonna inhale and say,Lord, you are my portion.
(26:49):
And then we're gonna exhale andsay, I need nothing more.
Let's try that one together.
Inhale and say, Lord, you are myportion.
Exhale and say, I need nothingmore.
(27:16):
Um, you can do breath prayersagain and again, and there are a
bazillion different ways thatyou can use these, you know,
different truths and scripturethat you can put in those uh
beautiful way to calm your bodyand renew your mind at the same
time.
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
Yeah, one of the things about breath prayers is
so very often the state of mindand state of our bodies that
takes us to eat mindlessly andto be willing to compromise the
standard that we have for oureating has to do with this amped
up, um, agitated kind of placethat we're in.
(27:54):
And breath prayers kind of zeroin on that physiologically.
If you can, if I can do evenjust 90 seconds of breath
praying, we will find that wemay not even want to overeat at
that point anymore because ourbody has calmed down, our blood
pressure has gone back tonormal, our heart rate is has
(28:16):
gotten slower again, and thateverything is just more
peaceful.
So it's a really good way ofpractically speaking, not just
renewing our minds, but alsogetting our bodies back to that
place of peace.
And that's what Christina wassaying, of course.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
Yeah.
So, friends, God isn't watchingyour plate, he's watching your
heart, and he's not countingyour bites, he's inviting you
into deeper trust.
That's who God is.
SPEAKER_00 (28:50):
So when you find yourself overeating, avoid that
spiral thing.
Just ask, okay, am I listeningto the Holy Spirit?
Am I seeking comfort in foodinstead of you, Lord?
I like to ask him.
And is this an opportunity maybeto renew my mind, to look and
learn, to repent, to realignwith your goodness?
(29:13):
If so, would you show me whatthat can look like right now?
You know, that invitation isthere.
It's a grace-fueledtransformation, yes, not
shame-fueled performance.
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
That is such a relief.
An invitation for a grace-fueledtransformation.
Oh, I love that.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Well, we hope this episode has brought some clarity
to you.
Not hopefully, definitely, notcondemnation.
SPEAKER_02 (29:42):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:43):
You are longing to live more freely and fully in
your body, your thoughts, yourmeals.
We want to invite you to join usinside our community at
revelationwithin.org.
That's where you'll find out allabout it.
SPEAKER_01 (29:57):
Yeah.
You know what?
You'll find a community of Womenwho are walking this very same
road, receiving grace, renewingour minds, and learning to
follow the spirit, not foodrules.
And they are amazing women,aren't they, Heidi?
SPEAKER_00 (30:14):
Yes, yes, we have an amazing community, and you'd be
welcome to join in.
We would love for you to join.
We do have some brave men theretoo, but it's mostly women.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
It is, and the first month is free, so you can just
come and join us and explore andsee what we're about.
Yeah.
So we're so glad that you'vebeen here today, and we would
love to invite you to come forour next episode of Revelation
Within All Bye.
(30:50):
See you next time.
Bye for now.
Bye bye.
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