Gluttony

Gluttony is the immoderate, unreasonable pleasure in food and drink, and it is a sin. The Catholic Church is not Puritanistic in saying that we cannot enjoy food and drink. There is nothing wrong with taking pleasure in eating and drinking. However, when making the desire for food and drink the center of your life, then you cross into gluttony.

Gluttony is not just a sin that only overweight people commit. We all have the ability to be gluttonous. If you were to look at me, your first thought would not be that I'm gluttonous. I'm tall and skinny. I certainly don't look like I over-eat. However, I do have a tendency to be gluttonous at times.  I've just been blessed with a high metabolism. My gluttony manifests itself through my sweet tooth. When I start eating sweets, I oftentimes find that I cannot stop. I just want to keep eating more.

Do you eat to make yourself feel better? I'm not talking about relieving physical hunger pangs. Do you eat to feel happy? If you eat or drink to make yourself feel better then you may be committing the sin of gluttony.

We all have a desire for happiness. Gluttony is seeking that happiness in food and drink. The problem we run into when we seek food and drink to satisfy our happiness is that, although we may satisfy that emotional need temporarily, it does not make us truly happy. So, we eat and drink more. And we eventually become addicted to food and drink. We need it to make ourselves feel better--to make us feel happy.

What's the antidote for gluttony? What's the opposite virtue? Temperance. Temperance is moderation, self-restraint. Discipline is a very important aspect of obtaining happiness. We need to have discipline over our desire to eat and drink. We need to understand that over-indulging in food and drink has a negative impact on our bodies and our souls. We need to make God the center of our lives instead of food and drink.