Gluttony. The Other Sin of the Flesh.

As Catholics it is easy to focus only on sins around sex and promiscuity. With constant scandals and salacious stories in the media, who can blame us? However, sexual impropriety isn’t the only sin of the flesh. There is also the sin of Gluttony.

It seems everywhere you go these days there are advertisements for food. You just can’t get away from it. But these seemingly harmless images and pictures are contributing to an obesity crisis created by the sin of gluttony. There are ads on television with fashion models (who have probably never eaten a sweet in their life) posing with chocolates and artisan coffee. This is an attempt to make the food look luxurious or ‘sexy’ They are associating idealistic ideals of men and women with the food. Then you have images of families sitting around eating piles of red meat at a dinner table. The idea of the family, and emotions associated with a gathering, are manipulated as an opportunity to bind this comfort to food. We are shown ham, turkey, leg of lamb with gravy dripping all over them. Who wouldn’t be salivating at this? But it reduces the idea of sitting around with your family, to an opportunity to eat and gorge yourself on huge portions of food.

The Bible, however, discourages us from joining people who eat too much:

Proverbs 23:20-21: "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."

It is not only families being targeted. There is also a commercial for cheese showing a developing friendship between two girls over time, of course, in every scene they are eating a different serving suggestion of the product. So, food is now linked to friendship. In a similar commercial about gravy, they show two girls (it’s always two girls for some reason) at a dinner table pouring gravy on their food at different ages. The girls maintain their figures and health throughout, despite seemingly consuming heavy gravy on a daily basis for years.

Of course that’s not all, there are trendy ads from food delivery companies with celebrities singing about food and getting it delivered. In one particular commercial they are sitting at a luxurious table full of fast food and singing about it. Even though judging by the figures of the celebrities, one could be forgiven for thinking that they never consumed a burger. There are also food ads on billboards, magazines, flyers, shop windows, bus stops, product placement in soaps, food shows, the list goes on …

According to an article in Psychology Today 'Watching Food Advertising Seems to Trigger Automatic Eating' (2021) Children consume 45% more snacks and adults more snack foods when exposed to advertising. The article also posits that the individuals are unaware of this and it doesn't matter if they are hungry or not.

Gluttony, for the uninitiated, is an excessive consumption of food (sometimes other material things) to the point of physical and spiritual harm. The physical issues are obvious, obesity, heart problems, high cholesterol, diabetes. However, these days, being overweight is accepted as a lifestyle choice or ‘bodily autonomy’ (We’ve heard that somewhere before) This has led to the promotions of overweight reality tv shows and films making it more relatable and acceptable to eat, eat and eat some more. We are warned of this in the Bible:

Philippians 3:19: "Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things."

Obviously at some point people may want to lose weight. They can just take weight loss drugs. However, there are many articles and shows about difficulties with some of these products. Not to mention that people who aren’t obese also use them, so they can look ‘super skinny’ But, no need to stop eating or dieting, just get the injection or pill. These so-called ‘solutions’ do nothing to address the cause of the problem.

We are taught as Catholics to respect our bodies and not to fall into the trap of Gluttony, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

The Bible also provides some insight into the problem of Gluttony or sins of the flesh. It hints that temptations may also be linked to a spiritual weakness and maybe you are straying from God.  So perhaps more prayer or focus on our Lord is needed.

Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Food advertising is everywhere, and society seems to be encouraging gluttony with popular shows about the morbidly obese and their lifestyles. However, we must be vigilant and try to be more aware. Maybe, if you are tempted to have a snack. Think and reflect. Am I hungry? Did I see a pleasing advertisement just now? Or maybe have a silent prayer; and if you still don’t have a hunger, put that snack back.