Cost of Living

(Pro 23:20 KJV)  Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
(Pro 23:21 KJV)  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

I am not even a light drinker, unless this refers to coffee, however, I have been known to be a glutton.  So, ouch.  The question that came to my mind today was whether this was given on the level of the Ten Commandments, sin, or whether it is a principle that will make our lives better.  If I were just looking at verse 20 I could lean toward the sin category but when I look at verse 21 it sounds like good advice for a successful life.

Recently we went to a buffet that my grandchildren refer to as “the restaurant where kids get to pick what they eat.”  That usually means bowls of mandarin oranges, pasta, red jello and ice cream.  It is a place I avoid because I am a glutton and sometimes know my limits.  I did notice that my fellow gluttons seemed to be a bit on the lower level of the socio-economic scale.  That is not just because of the quality of the food.  I have been to the buffets in Las Vegas that cost an arm and a leg and although it is expensive I have the feeling that many of the people their also can’t afford to be paying that much.  

But they do and in the long term it will keep them in the lower socio-economic group.

So?  Sometimes the Bible just gives good advice.  Will we go to hell for going to an all-you-can-eat place?  I doubt it but the pattern might say a lot about our overall wealth picture.