Re-thinking Diet - Solution #8

People talk a lot about the "seven deadly sins."

Pope Gregory, in the 6th century, officially compiled the list, not as an act of condemnation, but to help understand the nature of sin.

The 7 sins he included were, he felt, the root of all sin: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

It wasn't that these were the worst, he determined, but all sin sprouted from these.

So what's so wrong with gluttony? Seems kind of mild when compared to murder and adultery.

Gluttony is a lack of self-control, a specific fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). If we cannot control our response to food, our use of the Internet, TV, porn, etc. then we have allowed those addictions to control us.

We have given up the power to say "No!"

Instead of being controlled by the Spirit, we have turned over the ownership of our lives to a usurper, to another master - The evil One who wants to take God's place in the universe and in our lives.

Who is in control of our lives?
 
There is an inner battle taking place all the time in our hearts. A battle between our fallen nature and our new Christian nature.

When we practice self-control, or self-discipline, we are engaging the enemy.


Saying "No" can be fun! Keep a journal today of how many times you can say "No!" - to any addiction.


P.S. Around 1300 Dante wrote a poem called Divine Comedy. He is imagining a tour of Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. In the section he calls The Inferno (Hell)
he pictures nine great circles.  In circle 3 he places the gluttons. They are guarded by the great 3-headed worm-monster, Cerebus.

In order to get by Cerebus, he has to feed the monster's three heads with mud!

The gluttons are forced to lie a foul, vile slush, renewed with icy rain...forever! (Freezing is a preservative!)
 
It appears that as people begin taking steps toward self-indulgence their lives become solitary. The gluttons lie sightless and do not realize they have neighbors. They are totally self-absorbed and self-indulged with satisfying their own cravings, with no consideration for another's needs and comforts.

The true result of addictions is this vile, horrible slush, reminding us that what seemed attractive and allured us originally was actually nasty and foul.

As handfuls of mud pacified Cerebus, so gluttons are sustained throughout eternity -- in their abode of filthy slime! Like pigs in their sty.

But they are stuck with it forever, no longer able to make any other choices. Self-control is no longer an option.

(And Dante called his poem a Comedy!)