The Tragedy of Gluttony

one

The tragedy of using something good to cause damage.

The last two deadly sins, gluttony and lust, take goods of the body, human nourishment and human sexuality, and use them to damage the human person.

These are particularly sad sins, since we’re taking actual, physical gifts from God, and harming ourselves and our neighbors with them. Of course, like all sin, this happens by fixating on a created gift instead of on God, the Giver of all good things, until your whole world narrows to just that one thing (in this case, food or sex).

But it also happens because we begin to see these gifts as rights. We become entitled, and forget to say thank you for the good of each meal, or the beauty around us.

One of the first steps in overcoming a disordered use of the good things in life is to thank God for the goods already in our lives. Then we won’t be so insatiably driven to get the next fix.

two

Damaging the body with food

Food, obviously, is ordered to the good of the body. So it’s no surprise that God doesn’t want us damaging the body with food. It’s not good to constantly litter in God’s temple, which we are; we have no right to constantly trash the dwelling place of the Trinity with what we eat and drink.

We should live in such a way that we put the spiritual over the material. But how can we do that effectively if we are constantly eating junk food and drinking too much alcohol and prioritizing pleasure over health?

The goal isn’t to look amazing. You don’t want to just substitute gluttony with vanity, but to subordinate physical pleasures to higher goods is one of the basic tasks of human morality.

three

Damaging charity with food

Food is ordered to the good of society. So if your desire for food causes you to be selfish: To take the last cookie. To complain about food. To refuse to eat what your Host puts hard work into making, just because you don’t like it.

Well, that’s putting your physical pleasure against the good of charity. That needs to be confessed and you will have to learn (and teach your children) how to follow the Lord’s instructions: “Eat what is set before you.”

Don’t ever sacrifice charity to satisfy your palate. That’s probably the worst form of gluttony.

four

Damaging the intellect and will with drink

Goods of the body are, as we’ve said, subordinate to goods of the soul. So it should be obvious! Don’t put things in your body that significantly compromise your intellect, your will, or your emotional stability!

Don’t drink to get drunk. Don’t even drink to get buzzed.

If you drink wine, or beer, or whiskey, drink it because it’s good. Don’t drink to escape from life. Drink because life is so good and thank God for making good drinks as well.

five

Cultivating delight in food, drink, and friends

Remember, the Church doesn’t warn us against gluttony because food or drink are bad but because they’re supposed to be part of a good life. A life that’s healthy, and filled with friends, and a love of the highest things.

Make your eating and drinking part of that life. Eat more slowly. Drink more gratefully.

Let our need for nourishment and hydration become, every time, an opportunity for gratitude and appreciation.