The Sin of Gluttony
“It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” Mt.4:4
Gluttony is a mortal sin and one of the seven capital or deadly sins. It is mostly associated with the overindulgence of food and drink. However, one can also overindulge by consuming too many resources overall, by spending inordinately too much on especially rich and lavish foods, by spending large amounts of money on (cars, games, sports, houses, music, etc.), and the like. Gluttony seeks after immediate gratification, pleasure and comfort with little regard for the needs of others. Eating more than you want or need just to prevent others from getting your share would also be gluttony. This deadly sin leads to an unbalanced, addictive and materialistic existence that excludes God.
Praying at the beginning of a meal, reminds us that the fruitfulness of the earth is a blessing from God.
1866 Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called “capital” because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. [Catechism]
There was a time that I thought I had to eat all my food and all that others gave me (that they could not eat) just so that it did not go to waste. And then a wise old man told me, “if you eat more than your body requires you’re wasting it anyway.” [Eli]
The opposite virtue to gluttony is temperance or moderation.
1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: “Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.” Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: “Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites.” In the New Testament it is called “moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought “to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world.” To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul and with all one’s efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). [Catechism]
Bread brings life if eaten in faith and thanksgiving but eaten in gluttony, without discerning the body, it will kill.
An aid in overcoming gluttony is periodic fasting – of two small meals and one regular-sized meal with no snacks in between (as the Church recommends). Abstinence of meat, a favorite food or even eating something I don’t like (like brussel sprouts) is also recommended in mastering gluttony. It is not necessary to eliminate pleasurable things but only to limit them. Like, if I enjoy Facebook games take a break from them sometimes. Stop eating before I feel overfull. Do not binge snack, have a cutoff. If I feel heavy, can’t move, and want to go right to sleep – I probably overindulged.
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Fasting began in Paradise, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of Good and Evil. Pope Benedict XVI
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