Gluttony

I appeared on a television show with Hugh Heffner (and yes, I mean *that* Hugh Heffner). When I was in seminary, I did some research on the seven deadly sins which I posted online. Some time later, the History Channel developed a TV series on the seven deadly sins, and one of their researchers read my stuff and invited me to contribute as a "talking head" expert. They wound up using me on four of the episodes, including the one on lust, in which they also interviewed Hugh. So, while we never met (the interviews took place separately), I was on the same episode as he was. It's still rebroadcast every now and then ... or you can find them on youtube by searching for "history channel seven deadly sins full episodes". (My part on "Lust" is about 2:00 - 4:00.)

But this blog entry isn't about lust. It's about gluttony (the bit about Hugh was a hook to capture your interest). Gluttony is a well known, but poorly understood concept. The common mental image is one of fat people overeating, but it's not just that. At it's most basic level, gluttony isn't "doing something that is wrong" but "doing something that is right in the wrong way." We need to eat, but when we eat incorrectly, then we are practicing gluttony. This is an ancient definition of the term, and also includes not eating enough or being too picky about what we eat.

One of the more interesting things I learned in my studies is that the deadly sins are more about thinking than doing. They could more accurately be called "dangerous patterns of thought" rather than "deadly sins." This is because actions spring from thoughts. I have struggled with gluttony, and my nutritionists have been reprogramming my mind to equip me to win this struggle by teaching me how to eat right.

Why all this talk about gluttony? Well, I was thinking about it and remembered something I'd almost forgotten. Early church theologians wrote extensively about gluttony and they were convinced that victory over gluttony strengthened a person in such a way that it further equipped a person to be victorious in other areas of life as well. As I look back over the last few months in FWSW, I can plainly see that I'm doing more than just eating better. These victories are spilling over into other areas of my life as well. I won't go into a lot of detail here, so you'll have to trust me. Doing the right things in the right way positively touches almost every area of our life.

Note: If you'd like to read more on this, those articles found by the History Channel are still online at http://www.evagrius.net/articles.php.