Is Overeating a Sin?: A Heart-First Guide to Spirit-Led Eating

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.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Hosts, And the Big Question
• 1:34 Shame, Condemnation, And God’s Heart
• 3:25 What Scripture Says About Gluttony
• 5:52 Spirit-Led Eating, Not Bite-Counting
• 8:39 Faith, Romans 14, And The Heart
• 11:20 Scenario: Party, Distraction, And Grace
• 14:45 Scenario: Stress, Pantry, And Repentance
• 18:20 No Condemnation: Romans 8 And Kindness
• 21:00 Practical Tools: God List, Praise, Gratitude
• 24:10 Breath Prayers And Calming The Body
• 26:40 Final Takeaways And Community Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Bilesman Epis and one of your hosts, and the owner and the chief coach of the RevelationWithin.org ministry.

SPEAKER_01: 0:16

And I'm Christina Botley, your other host, also Revelation Within Coach, and Heidi Partner in all things Revelation Within. And we are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within. And I just wanted to say a very special thank you to Joylyn, who does all the editing for our podcast, and who was worrying and trying to fix about me having a squeaky chair. So I have we have oiled the chair, and hopefully we are good to go. We love you, Joylyn.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03

Yes, definitely. Okay, so today we're gonna talk about a question that Christine and I have been asked so many times. So many times, many years. Yes. And it's one that may feel a little bit uncomfortable, though. But we think it's really important to bring into the light. Are you ready to hear what it is? I'm ready.

SPEAKER_01: 1:28

Let's go for it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:32

All right. Is overeating a sin? Is overeating a sin? Hot topic for the day.

SPEAKER_01: 1:40

Hot topics.

SPEAKER_00: 1:41

Yeah, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01: 1:42

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_00: 1:44

Well, I'm just gonna be straight with you. This question often comes from the people who have spent time in programs that have taught that one bite past just enough is a sin and you are condemned for it. Um, whether their message is explicit or implicit, that one bite past full thing being sin, it's what they convey to us. And whether you've been in that camp or not, where you've been taught and trained and it's been ingrained into you that one bite past full is sin, or maybe you have been ignorant of that. That's that teaching that's awesome. But we're gonna talk about it. We're gonna take this bull by the horns right now. Uh, we don't want to throw any shadow on anyone's journey, but we do want to dig into what God's word actually says. And we think this is a fine time to do it.

SPEAKER_01: 2:37

Yes. Well, and honestly, the heart behind that question about overeating and sin, it's usually something deeper. It's not just, is this technically a sin? Really, it's more like, am I failing God every time I eat more than I need? Or how about this one? And this one just makes me cringe. Is God disappointed in me every day, all the time? I mean, every time this happens, is God disappointed in me? I mean, that is a question that I used to ask all the time.

SPEAKER_00: 3:17

And I get that. I've been there for years. I treated full fullness or that just enough place like a moral line. And if I crossed it, shame would come rushing in. Yes. But here's what God began showing me, and he continues to show me He is more concerned with the heart behind the habit than the precise bite count or how 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 five minutes to sit with me on my couch or walk with me through the park or whatever, and he wanted to say things that were the most on his heart to me. Do I really think it's consistent 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 the number on the scale today? Or the size of pants you're wearing? What is going on with you, girl?

SPEAKER_02: 4:23

No, that's not consistent with who Jesus said.

SPEAKER_00: 4:35

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 or size would come up at all in five minutes with Jesus. Maybe not even 20 minutes with Jesus.

SPEAKER_01: 4:53

I mean, not unless we brought it up, right? Which I've done a million times. We've got journals and journals full of it all. Yeah, no, I burned those. They're gone. Because shame is not from God. And I I'm so excited about what we have to share today. Because, like you said, Heidi, that is not in line with God's character. Those those questions that you mentioned about size and number on the scale and all those things. One bite past. Yeah. I mean, I I love what I have learned about God since I've been on this journey of learning how to renew my mind and on this whole journey that I've been on. It's been about 11 and a half years. And I just I love what I've learned about God, and we are so excited about sharing this with you. So, okay, let's let's start with a really tough word, and it's a word that gets tossed around. It's a heavy word, and it is gluttony. So let's go to Proverbs 23, 20, and 21. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

SPEAKER_00: 6:14

Hmm, that's intense.

SPEAKER_01: 6:16

Yeah. And how about this one? And Philippians 3:19 describes people whose God is their stomach. So, yes, gluttony is treated in skip scripture as a serious issue, but it's not just about the amount of food, it's about who or what is in charge.

SPEAKER_00: 6:41

Yeah, I think, you know, for me, my stomach might not be my God over the course of time. It has been more my taste, buds. I bow to what they want over the course of time. And and God has worked with me for you know 25 years on that. So in the Bible, gluttony isn't just eating too much. Let's let's kind of be clear on that. It's about living without restraint, placing what I perceive as comfort over God, going to food instead of Him as my comfort. Interesting that He calls Himself the God of all comfort and His Holy Spirit the comforter. Yes. Or ignoring his gentle leadership. And that is where it gets kind of sticky. Then it's why I believe that the sin in overeating, if there is sin there at all, is not the excess itself, but it's rejection of God's good, divine, holy leadership in that moment.

SPEAKER_01: 7:43

Yes. Yes, I love the way you said that, Heidi. And I just have to share, when you said sticky, all of a sudden I had this image of myself as a little girl with one of those candy necklaces on. Did you ever have one of those? Oh, I hated those. Oh, because you know, you put them up to your mouth and you eat them like all day long, and then you put it back on your neck and it is sticky, sticky, sticky. Uh, anyway, uh that just came to mind. Okay, so we got to have a little levity here.

SPEAKER_00: 8:14

Um, so we haven't had any yet.

unknown: 8:17

We haven't.

SPEAKER_01: 8:20

Okay, so this brings us to the heart of spirit-led eating, which we are so excited to talk about and just enjoy sharing. We're not just asking, how much is too much? We're asking, Am I walking with Jesus in this moment? Wow, what a different question. That's really, really different. I love it.

SPEAKER_00: 8:45

It really is. And and let's just go to Romans 14 23 for a moment. It's a real powerful verse that can kind of anchor this discussion. In fact, I highly recommend a good read is Romans 14 all the way through. But yes, um, that this particular part of the passage says everything that does not come from faith is sin. That's sobering. That is really everything. Everything, but it also really helps, it reframes the issue a little bit. It's not about measuring sin by how much we eat or how far past a certain point, it's about whether our choices are made in faith, in connection with God. And it's so cool that God wants to be invited into this so much.

SPEAKER_01: 9:34

He does, he really, really does. So, how about let's let's try this? Let's try saying it this way. If I'm choosing food because I'm numbing pain, ignoring God, or rebelling, well, that might be sin because I may be rejecting God's leadership in that moment. But if I'm enjoying food with gratitude and it turns out that I overate a little, that's not the same thing. God isn't nitpicking bites, He's looking at our heart.

SPEAKER_00: 10:04

Yeah. And of course, we've mentioned in recent weeks 1 Samuel 16, 7, and I love it for this context as well. 1 Samuel 16, 7 says, Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. And the heart he wants, honestly, is soft, teachable, surrendered. And that may not be perfect, it may not mean that we are operating in a perfect way. We never slip past satisfied in our 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 of myself. Am I acting right now with a surrendered heart? Am I submitted to Christ right now? And if I'm not, let's talk about that, Lord. Let's figure it out. Something is going on here that we need to talk about. And I also love that you said, Heidi, not perfect. We can't be perfect. We can't. And God knows that. He knows that we're living in an imperfect 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 who have been involved, and myself and you included, yeah, in a program over the years that taught us that it was a sin anytime you're one bite past satisfied, that that was sin. And I think about the heavy burden that that puts on us of condemnation. It's not conviction, it's not loving, it's full on condemnation. And we know what God says about condemnation in his word that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ. That's Romans 8:1. And that God sent his son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. That's John 3 17. And you know, there's so many more, and I love quoting these because it's like speaking truth to my own soul, and I always need more truth. But Romans 5 8 says, God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And he who did not hold anything back from us, he gave us his own son. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? I don't remember the exact address 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, have experienced condemnation, either that you've placed upon yourself or that somebody else has placed upon you for for food and eating it all, really. Ask God, Lord, is this from you? Is this from you, or is this from the mouth of somebody else, a heart from somebody else? And just see anyway. Let's go ahead and look at some of these scenarios, these uh real life ideas of walking through the lens of spirit-led eating. Um scenario one, you're at a party and you're having a great time, you get distracted, the conversation is great, the friends and family in attendance are enjoyable, and you realize, oh my goodness, my stomach aches a little bit. I ate a little bit past that just 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 to God, Lord, thank you for showing me. Help me to tune in more next time, then even that moment becomes one of growth. And that's one of my favorite things about this is that by turning to God and talking with Him, which we call look and learn, we are constantly growing, we're constantly learning. God is teaching us without condemnation, without shame. And all of that is gone. It's just a moment of talking with God and growing. And I love that. That is so different than what I used to believe. You know, I used to go to God and say, oh, you know, all these terrible, awful, self-condemning things. And I think, oh, you must be so disappointed. I did it again and again. And I just, I just stopped going to him, is what happened a lot of times. I would just take a break. But now I know that every time I turn to God, he greets me with compassion and joy. He's excited, his eyes are sparkling, he's grinning ear to ear. He can't wait for me to turn and talk with him. And it's good, it's life-giving, it's growth. And so I love thinking of it that 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 your emotions 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, not because of the food, but because of who we're turning to for help. And what might look and learn look like in this situation, Christina. I uh had a tough day. And instead of checking in with the 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 did that for many, many, many years. I was sharing with one of our one of our groups in the community the other day. My first go-to over stress or overwhelm or anything bad was the pantry. My second was call a friend. And God was waiting, he was ready, 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 a counterfeit, but I wasn't going to the place where my one true comfort was. God is the only one that can really, really make things better in a situation like that. His truth, his comfort, there's nothing that matches it. So a look and learn would be wow, I need to do something before I get home to prepare because I've got this pattern going on. Lord, help me with this. I want this pattern to be broken. And so I need to renew my mind about the stress that I'm dealing with, about the difficulty, whatever it is. You know, I taught elementary school for years, and even my very, very best days were completely exhausting. And I loved what I did. But every day I came home at this really high level of stress kind of thing. You know, there was just so much to do, and it was lots and lots going on with the kids, and I loved every minute, but I realized that I had to do something different to change this pattern. And so I remember at the time talking with God about it, and he gave me the idea. It came into my mind, how about take a little drive before you get home? And let's you and me talk about your day. Let's process your feelings together. 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 were plenty of needs there. So I'd be very distracted and I would just eat. But this way I had 10, 20 minutes with the Lord. And by the time I got home, and then I was also renewing my mind about what was true about the stress of the day, what was true about going home, what was true about going to food when I'm not hungry and my body didn't need extra food. And so by the time I got home, I was calmed down. I was my heart rate was coming way down. I was, you know, focused on the Lord, who he is, what he can do for me, his comfort, his love. And I was ready to walk in the house and handle my own family and let go of the stress of the day at work. And I had already gone to him for comfort. And so that pull to the pantry had come way, way down. I didn't need that anymore. I had already gone to the source of all comfort. And now it wasn't a quick fix. It took weeks and even months to break that pattern. But once it was broken, it was definitely broken. Every so often it would come up again. But I knew just what to do. Let's go for a drive or a walk, Lord, and let's deal with this. I want to deal with it with you first 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 you wanted to, or to just sit in the driveway in your car or whatever it might be, yes, so that you can check in with him. If you are in the position where you say, No, I don't feel like doing it, I don't need to do that, and you go on into the house. In that moment, it might be wise to ask God to show you, am I responding to your leadership or am I turning my back on you? Because before a bite of food even crosses your lips, that might indicate that your heart has turned away from God. And that is where we have to look. Is this sin? Yeah, maybe so. Right. Maybe so. It doesn't take food to be sin.

SPEAKER_01: 19:41

Right. Absolutely. I want to be surrendered to whatever he is calling me to. But yeah, there's times when I'm not. Absolutely not. Of course, we're human. This is our walk with the Lord. And that's why I love look and learn so much. Because we can go to God and say, something's up, Lord. I'm pushing against you right now. And I'm not sure even why. Will you help me to see it? I want to have a surrendered heart. 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 of pushing against God for some reason. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's anxious thoughts, you know, maybe it's that difficult news you got earlier in the day. Maybe it's that coworker at work or whatever it is. There's a million things that can 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 is what's needed. And we have this tendency to think of it like a punishment when it's actually an invitation.

SPEAKER_01: 20:52

Yes. Romans 2:4 tells us God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. That is so beautiful. It's his kindness that's leading us to repentance. I mean, is that mind-blowing for somebody out there? It was for me. Um I, yeah, that was not the way I was thinking of repentance for a long, long time.

SPEAKER_00: 21:17

And of course, what we've been talking about with look and learn is another way of thinking about repentance, really. Yes. And God is inviting us to draw close, and we come to him because of his kindness, and we invite him to show us what we need to do differently the next time so that we can experience his victory. I love that. He doesn't shame us into repentance, he woos us with his kindness. When we see how deeply he loves us, we want to turn toward him. I don't know how many times we could say this, but it's not, it's not a punishment, it's not a wagging finger. Shame on you. You need to take care of this sin in your life. It's an invitation. Yes, and remember Psalm 51. We talked about it a few weeks ago. David's heartfelt prayer of repentance. He doesn't say, God, I'll do better 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. And that's what we want. We want a right spirit, a renewed mind, a soft heart.

SPEAKER_01: 22:25

Well, and those of us that have been walking with the Lord for a while, we know how that feels. It feels so good to live and walk with the Lord with a right spirit, a renewed mind, a soft heart. That feels good. That brings life, that brings peace. Um, even in the most difficult situations, especially in the most difficult situations. That's where we want to live as much as possible. That feels amazing. Okay, so back to the original question is overeating a sin? So the answer is it depends. What is motivating it? Who are we turning to? 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 maybe it's done in pride, like I can take care of this myself, God. Yes, there definitely could be sin to repent of. And again, it says kindness that leads us to repentance. But if it's done in a moment of distraction or habit or stress, it might really just be an opportunity to renew our minds, receive grace, start again, no shame, no fear. Right.

SPEAKER_01: 23:41

This is why we at Revelation Within we focus so much on the renewing of the mind. I mean, this is really the key. This is the key to any kind of real heart transformation. If we don't renew our minds with God's truth, our old patterns will continue to run the show. And I know that's been true in my life. And you have probably experienced that as well out there. But when we soak in his word, remember who he is, and tune into the spirit, we change from the inside out.

SPEAKER_00: 24:20

So we'll go ahead and and share a couple of tools that we recommend for walking this out. We've talked about mind renewal tools 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 food and eating and am I in sin or not, you know, get to know who God is, what he's like. I know most of us say, I already know who God is, I know what he's like, but trust me on this. The God list is a great place to refresh your memory, maybe. Remind yourself of who God is and see what the word says about his character, his attributes, what he does for people. And then read that list again and again and again. And especially when you feel weak, it can be super helpful to redirect your attention to the Lord 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 loud God's attributes and acts. You can use the God list or on the fly, you can do this easily. A praise fest is just praising God for who he is. So, for example, God, you are my redeemer. 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 me faithfully without fail. And so we're praising him for who he is, and it turns our hearts toward him, softens our hearts, brings us to a place of 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 totally from thinking about food to just celebrating the many ways God blesses our lives with his abundance, really. So that's the God list, praise fest, gratitude journaling.

SPEAKER_01: 26:23

And then breath prayers is is another one that we'd love to get you started on if you haven't done these before. Basically, it's just breathing in and out and saying God's truth. It could be a verse from the Bible or a part of a verse, or it could be a truth that lines up with scripture. So here's an example. We're gonna inhale and say, Lord, you are my portion. And then we're gonna exhale and say, I need nothing more. Let's try that one together. Inhale and say, Lord, you are my portion. Exhale and say, I need nothing more. Um, you can do breath prayers again and again, and there are a bazillion different ways that you can use these, you know, different truths and scripture that you can put in those uh beautiful way to calm your body and 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 mind and state of our bodies that takes us to eat mindlessly and to be willing to compromise the standard that we have for our eating has to do with this amped up, um, agitated kind of place that we're in. And breath prayers kind of zero in on that physiologically. If you can, if I can do even just 90 seconds of breath praying, we will find that we may not even want to overeat at that point anymore because our body has calmed down, our blood pressure has gone back to normal, our heart rate is has gotten slower again, and that everything is just more peaceful. So it's a really good way of practically speaking, not just renewing our minds, but also getting our bodies back to that place of peace. And that's what Christina was saying, of course.

SPEAKER_01: 28:33

Yeah. So, friends, God isn't watching your plate, he's watching your heart, and he's not counting your 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 listening to the Holy Spirit? Am I seeking comfort in food instead of you, Lord? I like to ask him. And is this an opportunity maybe to renew my mind, to look and learn, to repent, to realign with your goodness? If so, would you show me what that can look like right now? You know, that invitation is there. It's a grace-fueled transformation, yes, not shame-fueled performance.

SPEAKER_01: 29:26

That is such a relief. An invitation for a grace-fueled transformation. 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, not condemnation.

SPEAKER_02: 29:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 29:43

You are longing to live more freely and fully in your body, your thoughts, your meals. We want to invite you to join us inside our community at revelationwithin.org. That's where you'll find out all about it.

SPEAKER_01: 29:57

Yeah. You know what? You'll find a community of Women who are walking this very same road, receiving grace, renewing our minds, and learning to follow the spirit, not food rules. 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 there too, 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 and see what we're about. Yeah. So we're so glad that you've been here today, and we would love to invite you to come for our next episode of Revelation Within All Bye. See you next time. Bye for now. Bye bye.