ABOUT GLUTTONY

FEBRUARY 17, 2008

As part of our Lenten reflection on the roots of the moral failure in our lives, let us consider gluttony, that is, overindulgence in food or drink. Gluttony is a most pervasive sin, with one of the most obvious and unpopular results -- gaining unneeded weight. It is benignly regarded by many as a harmless soft spot in some people’s character, the innocent taking of a little extra pleasure at the dinner table. One never hears a sermon preached against it. Some might think it insensitive or callous to talk openly about weight control problems, because of the risk of embarrassing someone. Even medical research seems to indicate it’s healthier to be a little overweight than a little underweight.

Yet, gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, and the harm gluttony causes far exceeds what immediately meets the eye.

There was at least a tinge of gluttony in the original sin of Adam and Eve: “The woman saw that the (forbidden) tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes... so she took some of its fruit and ate it” (Gen 3:6). God had filled their garden with every imaginable delight, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy them. They had an inordinate desire for even more pleasure. The Apostle Paul denounced those "whose god is their belly" (Phil. 3:19). St. Augustine confessed that he had allowed the lovely things which God had created to keep him from loving the creator.

Gluttony involves the inordinate love of sensible pleasure, particularly food and drink, which crowds out the love of God. Gluttony is based on the mistaken notion that human happiness and fulfillment reside in the good that the body can attain, rather than in what the spirit can attain. Gluttony subordinates the spiritual to the carnal dimension of human existence, thereby frustrating the hunger of the soul for God. In fact, it is the unsatisfied hunger for communion in love with God and others that underlies the glutton’s misunderstood inner craving, and that misleads him to seek temporary escape from his inner emptiness in food.

As is the case with other sins, gluttony represents confusion between needs and wants. The glutton wants more food and drink than he needs, or rather, he wants more pleasure from food and drink than he can get from a normal portion.

Gluttony is an expensive sin, but this is the least of the woes it causes. Far more serious is the fact that it can be as enslaving as any other addiction. Everyone recognizes drug addiction for the slavery that it is, and everyone knows addicts suffer short- and long-term damage from drug abuse. Alcohol dependency, which is a form of gluttony, is also recognized for what it is, and for its ruinous effect on health and on social relationships. Addiction to food, in comparison, harms the health and shortens the lives of far more people. It is not just a problem of eating too much, but a problem of eating what is known to be unhealthy, simply to satisfy a craving.

Based on physique, we cannot judge who is or is not a glutton. Some persons gain weight more easily than others. One can be skinny, and still be a glutton, or conversely, stout but not a glutton. Gluttony is not measured by the size of our waist, but by the size of our desire for the pleasure food and drink provide. It is, again, by definition, an inordinate, or excessive, desire.

Beyond its negative effects on health, gluttony harms us in other, more subtle and insidious ways. It trains our will to organize our life around the pursuit of pleasure. Gluttony conditions us to self-indulgence, and to say “yes” to any and all appetites. Thus, gluttony weakens our resistance against all the other deadly sins, especially the ones directly associated with gratification of appetite, like lust.

Gluttony can also be a telltale sign that one’s life is empty and purposeless. The glutton may be turning to food as a companion and comforter, because there is no one else there, or because there is no one with whom he would rather be. No blanket judgment can be rendered on such a condition, because a person may be suffering loneliness due to rejection by others, on the one hand, or, on the other, egotistical self-absorption due to indifference toward others.

The problem of gluttony feeds on itself. After the glutton has overindulged, he can feel self-defeat at not controlling his appetite. Looking in a mirror, he can become filled with self-loathing, and become ever more convinced he is unattractive and unlovable. In a vicious cycle, this can drive him even more to seek consolation in food.

Freedom from gluttony requires a turn toward the spiritual dimension of life.
The glutton must recognize that no amount of food and drink will ever satisfy his real hunger, which is for God. Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Mat. 4:4). He also said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger; whoever believes in me will never thirst" (John 6:35).

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 18-Feb-2008 8:43 sitemap