One bite less than the Pharisees would have you eat.i’ve been pondering this for a long time. I eat a lot, but I’m a big, active guy (6’2"), and I have a lightning-fast metabolism. I never waste food, because I know there are people who would kill for even one of the snacks I eat. So how much eating counts as sinful gluttony?
Everyone eats for the love of food to some extent…By your definition eating dessert is gluttony. No one needs dessert to survive.as long as you are filling your tank because your machine is empty then it’s fine. eating for the love of food and over indulging is gluttony.
That’s good, because I never eat dessert.Everyone eats for the love of food to some extent…By your definition eating dessert is gluttony. No one needs dessert to survive.
I’ve got to disagree here. I doubt Jesus produced 120 GALLONS of wine at Cana because the guests needed it and were empty - they’d drunk the place dry already, and in any event didn’t need wine at all, but especially not such a huge quantity!as long as you are filling your tank because your machine is empty then it’s fine. eating for the love of food and over indulging is gluttony.
Wow, you have PERSONAL knowledge of what or how much our Lord ate and drank?I’ve got to disagree here. I doubt Jesus produced 120 GALLONS of wine at Cana because the guests needed it and were empty - they’d drunk the place dry already, and in any event didn’t need wine at all, but especially not such a huge quantity!
And He was personally accused of being both a drunkard and a glutton - an impossible accusation if He alwaysdrank and ate the bare minimum and never for enjoyment. Indeed, He described HIMSELF on that occasion as ‘eating and drinking’, and put Himself in stark contrast with John the Baptist who really was a thoroughgoing ascetic.
At the same time He wasn’t overly attached to the pleasures of food - being willing to fast for 40 days in the desert, for example.
So those of us who possibly have an unhealthy relationship with food might consider emulating His example. By, for instance, going without lunch or dinner one or two days a week, or fasting on Fridays or the like, in order to lessen that attachment. Or other penances like going without a favourite food for a time.
Food is one of the many good things God has given us, and can and should be rightly enjoyed as such. Like most of the other goods we receive (money, physical health, sex and whatnot) it is to be enjoyed in moderation rather than abused.
If you overeat to the extent that your health is compromised, or insist on only the best and finest at all times (unless it’s part of your job - for example you’re a restaurant chef or something) - then you might indeed be guilty of gluttony.
Food is, however, truly a mind-altering substance, especially those varieties that contain loads of fats and/or sugars. And like other drugs, can be powerfully addictive. And like other addictions, addiction to food can lessen our culpability for sins in this regard.
It’s there in scripture - Matt 11:18-19 for starters, as well as the episodes of the wedding at Cana and the feeding of the 5,000. I’m not relying on any sort of personal knowledge.Wow, you have PERSONAL knowledge of what or how much our Lord ate and drank?
Why isn’t this in the Book of Revelations?
Gluttony and overeating are closely related. But not all overeating is gluttony and not all gluttony is overeating.
Eating until you’re stuffed and then having one more piece of pie on Thanksgiving is overeating, maybe even sinful overeating, but not necessarily gluttony. The gluttony that is overeating is habitual. It is something you think you need in order to be truly happy. You order your life around it. It’s like a little god.
The other kind of gluttony that is food related is that which makes you picky to the extreme about what you eat. A person on a special restricted diet can be gluttonous in the insistence on having everything just perfect. “Ohhh, no! I couldn’t possibly eat THAT!” There is a wonderful description of a picky glutton in The Screwtape Letters. The woman is simply insufferable about what she is served and finally says, “All I want is a piece of really crisp toast.” Her life, too, is ordered around small amounts of perfect food and drink.
Young men in growth periods need massive amounts of fuel for growth and activity. Satisfying these needs is not gluttony. Eating the same amount of food could be gluttony for a smaller, older, less active person.
You can fight the tendency to gluttony in yourself by always making a small sacrifice at meals - eat more of what you like least, leave off the ketchup or salt or salad dressing, give the best servings to someone else… all kinds of ways to keep your enjoyment under control. And always eat with gratitude and willingness to share.
Betsy
maybe im wrong, but is gluttony always something that is habitual? A Priest told me that it was possible to have one incident of gluttony.Gluttony and overeating are closely related. But not all overeating is gluttony and not all gluttony is overeating.
Eating until you’re stuffed and then having one more piece of pie on Thanksgiving is overeating, maybe even sinful overeating, but not necessarily gluttony. The gluttony that is overeating is habitual. It is something you think you need in order to be truly happy. You order your life around it. It’s like a little god.
The other kind of gluttony that is food related is that which makes you picky to the extreme about what you eat. A person on a special restricted diet can be gluttonous in the insistence on having everything just perfect. “Ohhh, no! I couldn’t possibly eat THAT!” There is a wonderful description of a picky glutton in The Screwtape Letters. The woman is simply insufferable about what she is served and finally says, “All I want is a piece of really crisp toast.” Her life, too, is ordered around small amounts of perfect food and drink.
Young men in growth periods need massive amounts of fuel for growth and activity. Satisfying these needs is not gluttony. Eating the same amount of food could be gluttony for a smaller, older, less active person.
You can fight the tendency to gluttony in yourself by always making a small sacrifice at meals - eat more of what you like least, leave off the ketchup or salt or salad dressing, give the best servings to someone else… all kinds of ways to keep your enjoyment under control. And always eat with gratitude and willingness to share.
Betsy
So everyone at a wedding commits gluttony?Everyone eats for the love of food to some extent…By your definition eating dessert is gluttony. No one needs dessert to survive.