So I just had diner a while ago and got a bit more on my plate than I expected. I thought about putting some of the food away but it would take some work to remove the lettuce from the tacos and figure out where to put them so I just ate them all and felt quite full. I thought about gluttony as I ate but convinced myself that it wouldn’t be since it would be a sort of waste otherwise. (at least that’s what I told myself)
So my question would be…when is gluttony a mortal sin? As a growing teen, I get cravings at times for foods I wouldn’t normally reach for and sometimes ‘pig out’ with inital hunger that’s quickly replaced by a bulgy full feeling.
Hi V7.
You sure are suffering from unnecessary scruples, not gluttony.
Say you were a small town sheriff and gorged yourself every day in front of a vagrant in the cell. If you allowed him to starve to death, while taunting him in this way, I’m sure the gluttony, not to mention the wilful cruelty, would lead you to side with evil. Thou shalt not murder.
During teenage years, the body’s hormone production is raging. This naturally drives the appetite into orbit. This is your body’s way of telling you to eat and grow. You’ll never reach your full stature and strength if you obsess about a leaf of lettuce.
Arguably this would be a sin against your God-given potential as an athlete or whatever(or even just a productive member of society)…though I don’t want to give you any more scruples.
I have a friend who has concerns like yours. She has done missionary work in Africa and Asia, and this is the source of these scruples.
Point is, they are now harming her health. She has become very frail, because she is not consuming enough nourishment. It even interferes with her wonderful work, because she has so little energy, and is very prone to illness. She is more than twenty years younger than me, but is far older in terms of health.
If you get to that stage, expect a life of ill health and frustation. When your bodyfat gets too low, or when you consume too little dietary fat, you can’t manufacture good hormones. These are ESSENTIAL for growth, repair, and mood.
Good fats are also essential for your BRAIN function. You will lose touch with the reality and danger of the situation(like my friend).
Expect joint problems, and posture plus breathing issues caused by atrophy of the back muscles. These problems will force you to walk with an old person’s shuffle.
Even if you get enough fat, if you don’t consume enough protein and vitamins and minerals, you will be CHRONICALLY ILL.
Seek counsel, if your reason can’t get these scruples under control.
Doing something really energetic on a regular basis like hillwalking, swimming or best of all weightlifting( ok, I’m biased), will give your hormone production and appetite a healthy boost to whatever should be normal for your body.
Many of these issues occur in people who are sedentary and very unfit…not as nature intended. The human body, male and female, is designed to be VERY strong and enduring. That this is not the case, in the developed world, is the result of lifestyle.
For such people, eating is DISSOCIATED FROM ACTUAL ENERGY REQUIREMENTS(which are actually very low due to lack of movement). This is the road to a very small, weak, chronically ill body…or very large, fat, chronically ill body!
If you become really active like me(weightlifting in my fifties after serious illness nearly killed me), you will eat as much as you need. You will be far healthier, and you will have a healthy appetite, and a healthy attitude towards food.
Hope this helps you back to reality.
You are truly blessed you if you can get out of bed in the morning(take it from me!). There is a whole wonderful world outside your head. It is full of people who could do with a kind word. It is full of people who would love to have a friend.
Get out there.
God bless.
I am a little worried.