Struggles with Gluttony

Gluttony may not seem like a deadly sin to many at first glance, especially if you can easily think of a half a dozen times in recent history when you overate or drank immoderately. But the reality is that gluttony can be deadly when it turns us away from our ultimate focus, God.  Gluttony is an addiction, and addiction is an element of all sin, and sin keeps us from growing in relationship with God.

What is gluttony?

Gluttony is the unrestrained consumption or overindulgence in food or drink. Gluttony is opposed to moderation.

Living with gluttony

Gluttony leaves you feeling pretty lousy, as all sin tends to do. You may experience gluttony in your life by always eating or drinking without waiting for others, being excessively picky about the food you eat, eating or drinking in excess, depriving yourself of enough food or drink (anorexia or bulimia), or eating too quickly or greedily. But there is good news. Through prayer and some hard work, you can free yourself from the heavy burdens that gluttony brings and the damage it can cause to you and your relationship with God. You can treat your gluttony by working on the virtue that helps temper our gluttony: temperance. 

What do the experts say?

“There is a deep unwisdom, a deep folly involved in gluttony, something more serious than an overfull stomach. It is the illusion that we can be made happy by cramming our inner emptiness, of body as of soul, full of the things of this world. It is a recipe for disappointment.” –Dr. Peter Kreeft

“Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me, and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.” –Sirach 23:6

“It is impossible to engage in spiritual conflict, without the previous subjugation of the appetite.” –St. Gregory

How do I treat my gluttony?

By cultivating its opposing virtue: temperance.