Gluttony vs Temperance

Gluttony vs Temperance

    Day five brings us to the Deadly Sin of Gluttony and the Heavenly Virtue of Temperance.  I figured with it being the night before Super Bowl Sunday this would be a good one to do. Many of us will be either going to parties, hosting one, or just sitting on the sofa surrounded by snacks and drinks.  This is the first major event since New Years Eve where some of us may have made the resolution to lose weight or cut back. It will test those and those will need to use the virtue of Temperance to keep from over doing it. 

      Gluttony is when we over indulge of food and drink. In a society when we can “super size” just about anything does not help us fend off gluttony. It is not wrong to join in the party and enjoy ourselves. It is when we cross that line of excess that does us in and causes the sin to appear. Think of how you felt after you ate to much. All you wanted to do is rest and do nothing. You feel sick and not yourself. I also bet you said “ I am never going to eat like that again”. When it comes to gluttony and alcohol, another issue arise. When you over drink you inhibitions are lowered and your judgement is impaired. This can cause you to act in ways that other sins may become exposed. You act in a way that you would not when you are sober. You may wake up the next day and realize things happened last night that you wished you did not do. Anything in excess has its own problems. With Gluttony we can try and hold back and not over indulge. 

     When we are holding back and are not over indulging then we are acting with the Virtue of Temperance. The saying “ Everything in Moderation” is the core of what the virtue is all about. It does not mean that we can not partake but do it in moderation. Yes, enjoy the piece of cheese cake, just not the whole cake. Yes, enjoy that glass of wine, just not the bottle of it. When you are in the drive thru, do not super size the meal.  It is hard because the society we live in is about excess. The bigger home, the fastest car, the expensive meal etc... all of which makes temperance harder to hold on to. It is better for us both physically, mentally and spiritually if we can hold on. We will not be weighed down with weight or sin. When we are weighed down we do not want to do much and like in the other nights blog, the sin of sloth can also take hold during this time. Temperance can fend off not only Gluttony but keep Sloth to creep in behind Gluttony. 

     We need to remember to enjoy those things that we like to eat and drink but not to the point of over excess of them. Any kind of excess can bring on other sins of this life. The only excess we need is those things we get from the most Holy Trinity. Everything else we need to temper. 

Until tomorrow, God Bess, and act with temperance today and live a life of moderation.