Current thinking on the sin of gluttony

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This is one of those sins you don’t hear much about anymore. I think this is because it suffers from an ambiguous definition/meaning.

Even though there is an epidemic of obesity in the US, I’m not sure this is due to gluttony. It seems it is more a sign of availability and affordability of food. More of an affluence factor, imho.

Does anyone know someone guilty of this sin? If so, what defines this person’s sin?
 
I agree that we don’t hear enough about gluttony - one of the Seven Deadly Sins! I have been reading a small booklet about the 7.
I happen to think that the obesity epidemic can absolutly be blamed on the sin of gluttony. Why? Look at how our clulture has created and embraced ‘recreational eating’! Food is no longer something we respect for the purpose that God gives it to us.
Not that we cannot enjoy food ~ but it is abused daily in the lives of many.
How many people actually sit down with their food before they consume it, contemplate it as a gift, and then give thanks for it before they eat? How many people just grab food to eat when they are not even hungry? How many people don’t stop eating when they are no longer hungry, but instead eat and eat and eat until they are in pain??? How many people are ‘food addicted’ or have eating disorders?
Yes I believe their are many people who are guilty of the sin of gluttony and don’t even know it. They don’t hear about it, and they think that there is no sin in what they are doing.
Good question.
 
Did anyone here the news story about the woman who died because she could not get off of her couch?
She became a couch potato because she had not moved off of the couch in 6 years!
That is first of all neglect from the person herself and her husband. The woman died in the hospital when the doctors tried to get the fabric of the couch off her skin. SInce she laid on the couch for 6 years, she grew and became a part of the couch! :eek:

There are a lot of factors here: Gluttony, Slothfulness, and neglect.
I know this is a VERY stream case, but nevertheless, it happened.

I try to get outside and walk 3.5 miles a day, either in the morning or evening. I get the satisfaction knowing that the excersize does me good.

go with God!
Edwin
 
I was thinking about this the other day at a resturant. They portions they serve are HUGE!!! I know I have to take some home when I am full. I started thinking, isn’t eating at resturants gluttonous because they give you so much??

I’m a bored-eater…I eat when I am bored. I’ve been trying not to. I snack less, which is good. But, i can definelty see the north american take on eating as being completely gluttonous. I come from an italian family and I remember every meal being very big, but being a huge celebration. But, it was big because everyone was there.
 
I asked a priest during confession if gluttony was still a sin. He emphatically said “YES!”

His advice on what to do about it was:

Eat one meal a day of bread and water, prayerfully.

I tried it, and it was very helpful to place the problem in God’s hands rather than the daily battle of self-control, followed by binge eating.
 
I can’t remember where I read this, possibly “The New York Times Magazine” a few years ago, but someone was holding forth on our perceptions of weight and socio-economic status in this country. He said that in the Depression when you saw poor people they were skinny and gaunt, as if they were starving. They evoked pity.

But if you see poor people nowadays they are as often as not obese, having stuffed themselves with processed junk foods, rather than healthy foods. And they, as a result, evoke feelings of contempt. the idea being that if someone can afford to make themselves that fat, then they should be able to improve their other circumstances.

The writer wasn’t condoning that thinking, just reporting on it. I did think it interesting. Of course, weight problems are seldom that black and white.
 
This is too tough a question for me to ponder on an empty stomach. :rotfl:
 
We also have to remember that gluttony encompasses too much of anything – not just food.

Too much TV
Too much alcohol
Too much busy-ness
Too much materialism

I have recently struggled with spiritual gluttony. Sometimes I get so into whatever I’m reading or learning that I neglect my other duties and responsibilities. My spiritual advisor affirmed that this is indeed a problem for many.

Too much of the Catholic forums??!!
 
Here in Australia we are seeing an epidemic of childhood obesity and I am seeing far more obese people in the shopping centres these days than 10 years ago. I have to admit that I am part of the problem and I struggle with gluttony every day. :o

Spiritual gluttony is something I struggle with… I would rather read or study spiritual/ theological material than do the work I am supposed to do.

With God’s help I hope to overcome both gluttonys. 😦
 
Once, while working in my garden, I overheard a portly neighbor who was talking loudly to his pre-teen grandson. The grandson had just returned from a vacation, and the neighbor wanted to hear “all about it.”

He then proceeded to ask the grandson questions: “You got there Friday night? What did you have for dinner? What did you have for dessert? What did you have for Breakfast on Saturday? What was for Lunch? Where did you eat Dinner? What did you have? Did you have Brunch on Sunday?”

He listed every meal during the week, and wanted to know what the grandson had eaten. He didn’t ask any questions about any of the activities in which the grandson engaged, any of the sights seen by the grandson, nor any other details. His only interest was in what the grandson had eaten, how it was prepared, and how delicious it tasted.

It seemed to me to be the perfect example of gluttony, and the underlying reason for the neighbor’s girth.
 
Gluttony, to me, is more than food - it is the wasteful extravagance of modern day life. People who make a good living yet deep in debt, so they can have the big new SUV and the big house in the new development. We now do not worry if we can afford the item, as long as we have room on the card limit. Kids are taught from an early age that you have to have all the newest, biggest, best of everything - people with housese filled with so much STUFF that they have to hire a professional organizer to come in - ya’ll looks like 99% of America is guilty of gluttony!
 
What about people who are real “foodies” and love to cook gourmet and dine out on special foods? More and more gourmet food stores are opening, and people have money to dine out now–not like when I was a kid. Does this qualify as gluttony?
 
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kage_ar:
Gluttony, to me, is more than food - it is the wasteful extravagance of modern day life. People who make a good living yet deep in debt, so they can have the big new SUV and the big house in the new development. We now do not worry if we can afford the item, as long as we have room on the card limit. Kids are taught from an early age that you have to have all the newest, biggest, best of everything - people with housese filled with so much STUFF that they have to hire a professional organizer to come in - ya’ll looks like 99% of America is guilty of gluttony!
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Personally I feel as is we are raising a nation of overweight inactive kids.

Remember when we were kids and stayed out until suppertime? And came in when mom put the porch light on?

We are raising , to a degree, kids who can’t “socialize” as their cellphones or Game Boys are their “playmates”

As parents, WE need to take responsibility for our children.
~ Kathy ~
 
Guilty on all counts :crying:

We live in a society of excesses, every day we are bombarded by the media to get bigger and better things. Nothing is ever good enough, the latest and next best item is what we all want and even after we get it we are never satisfied.

Our whole economy is built on this never ending desire to go out and buy more and more ‘stuff’. Look at an ad for TVs and there are not just one or two sizes or brand. There are a boatload of them, each one bigger or brighter or better than the other.

Cuting edge technology is what everyone wants. ANd we all want the bigger house, the nicer car, and to eat at the finest restaurants. It’s not just keep up with the Joneses, it keeping up with the latest from Madison Avenue and the TV infomercials.

We are a consumer driven country, and our producers are always working to provide something else that everyone wants, not necessarily what every one needs.

How do you stop it ???

You tell me, I’m as hooked as the next guy. How much is that Mercedes ??? :whacky: :whacky:
 
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Edwin1961:
Did anyone here the news story about the woman who died because she could not get off of her couch?
She became a couch potato because she had not moved off of the couch in 6 years!
That is first of all neglect from the person herself and her husband. The woman died in the hospital when the doctors tried to get the fabric of the couch off her skin. SInce she laid on the couch for 6 years, she grew and became a part of the couch! :eek:

There are a lot of factors here: Gluttony, Slothfulness, and neglect.
I know this is a VERY stream case, but nevertheless, it happened.

I try to get outside and walk 3.5 miles a day, either in the morning or evening. I get the satisfaction knowing that the excersize does me good.

go with God!
Edwin
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My goodness that sounds creepy… I’m moving my couch out of the living room and replacing it with my tread mill !!! :bigyikes:
 
We can all be a bit too hard on ourselves as Americans.

We are fed copious amounts of modified corn starch and corn syrup and sugar and this reaks havoc on your insulin/blood sugar system causing overeating.

I don’t think Americans have internalized yet how much Dr. Atkins was right and how wrong our current food pyramid is for our health. If we did internalize it, I think you would see “gluttony” reduced by 50%.
 
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wcknight:
Guilty on all counts

We live in a society of excesses, every day we are bombarded by the media to get bigger and better things. Nothing is ever good enough, the latest and next best item is what we all want and even after we get it we are never satisfied.

Our whole economy is built on this never ending desire to go out and buy more and more ‘stuff’. Look at an ad for TVs and there are not just one or two sizes or brand. There are a boatload of them, each one bigger or brighter or better than the other.

Cuting edge technology is what everyone wants. ANd we all want the bigger house, the nicer car, and to eat at the finest restaurants. It’s not just keep up with the Joneses, it keeping up with the latest from Madis Mon Avenue and the TV infomercials.

We are a consumer driven country, and our producers are always working to provide something else that everyone wants, not necessarily what every one needs.

**How do you stop it ??? **

You tell me, I’m as hooked as the next guy. How much is that Mercedes ???
Click to expand...
👋 **We are free people and should not allow ourselves to be manipulated by all these commercials ! JUST SAY “NO” **

Keep a copy of Matthew 6: 19 on your fridge door and a small picture of all the children who are starving all over the world :ehh: !

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust comsumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart ❤️ be also. Matt. 6:19

Shalom,
Catherine
.
 
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Scanner:
We can all be a bit too hard on ourselves as Americans.

We are fed copious amounts of modified corn starch and corn syrup and sugar and this reaks havoc on your insulin/blood sugar system causing overeating…
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Au contrair my friend. We are not hard enough on ourselves. Our children learn from us. And we are not fed, we feed ourselves.
We need to learn AND practice self control. You can read labels. Yes, sugars are in a lot of things, but not everything. As far as overeating , we all need to learn to “put the fork down”
~ Kathy ~
 
Food is just the tip of the iceberg, add in consumerism, extravagant life styles, just overindulging in practically every aspect of human endeavor.

The amount of waste and excess in our society is simply scandalous. Why should anyone ‘need’ to buy a TV that costs more than a home in some countries ? or a car that costs over a 100 grand.

This country has take extravagances to new highs. I happen to be a real penny pincher, but even then, over spending is an epidemic. Even tight wads like me have plenty of room to cut back. The money we save could be used to help others less fortunate.

It wouldn’t hurt any of us to skip a meal once in a while, and send what we would have spent to some charity. It would probably even help us towards a healthier diet. And it is similar in other areas as well, we can buy somthing a little less expensive, We don’t always have to have the best cut of meat or the best seats in the house.

The less we use, the more we can afford to give to others. America is so spoiled, that some times, I wonder when God will get totally fed up with our decadence. I know there are some folks who are aware of our excesses, but I think the vast majority of folks are just looking to go out to buy the latest and greatest thing available.
 
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