A look at gluttony
For once I am not necessarily anticipating the turkey, dressing, pie and other foods we’ll likely have for Thanksgiving dinner. For some reason this year I’m more looking forward to spending the holiday with family and catching up on the latest family news than I am anticipating gorging on all the good food.
Trust me, this is a change.
It kind of makes it easier to focus on gluttony, the first of the seven deadly sins that will be the focus of this blog series.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gluttony is defined as ”excess in eating or drinking” and ”greedy or excessive indulgence.” Deadlysins.com lists gluttony as “an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.”
In her Beliefnet.com story about gluttony, Rebecca Phillips noted that a 1998 Purdue University study found that religious people are more likely to be overweight than other Americans. The Purdue researcher called overeating the “overlooked sin” in religion, compared to other fleshly sins like lust or adultery.
Many faith traditions warn against gluttony or overeating in some way.
For Christianity, one such warning can be found in the book of Proverbs: ”Be not among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. (Proverbs 23:20-21).”
According to Beliefnet.com’s Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the consensus of the early church was that believers should “stop eating while you are still hungry and don’t allow your stomach to be filled to satisfaction.”
Muslims fasting from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan are discouraged from being too gluttonous when breaking the fast with the iftar meal, which is eaten after sunset.
The Hindu text the Tirukkural warns against overeating: “The thoughtless glutton who gorges himself beyond his digestive fire’s limits will be consumed by limitless ills.”
Question: Do you faith beliefs influence how much you eat?
If that question gets you thinking, you might also be interested in taking a Seven Deadly Sins quiz. I took it yesterday and it was remarkably perceptive, much to my chagrin. You can find it at www.4degreez.com/misc/seven_deadly_sins.html.
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