GLUTTONY

A cheater, a liar, a deceiver....No, a greedy Glutton...!!!

As a child, when I was first introduced to the 7 deadly sins, my friends and I started looking around and associate people with a deadly sin; Gluttony was fat people’s sin…I know kids are so cruel, right?

In plain description, as often referred to glutton in popular culture, this sin is associated with food, the pleasure of the table and the indulgence of the palates; in other words, Rachel Ray, Emeril, and Company are all sinners? Not quite, at least not for this purpose, Gluttony means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. Naturally, for a child, one who is slightly overweight must have over-indulged themselves…

Although the Bible uses a few food analogies to describe sex (i.e. Drink Water from your own cistern [proverbs 5:15]), I will leave the food in sex combo for a future post..:-)

The key aspect of Gluttony in Relationships as a relationsin is more about over-indulgence and over-consumption, and follow right on the trail of Vanity. If we recall Vanity is an "excessive belief in one's own abilities, which interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise.”

Excessive belief in one’s ability almost always sends an invitation to self-entitlement, and self-entitlement usually hangs out with over-consumption.

Most of us remember the impact if being or seeing the new guy or new girl; the new guy needs to be slightly cuter than Frankenstein for all the girls to drool around him. “Have you seen the new guy? He is so cute”….Please…same goes to the new girl, who only needs to display a little sexy touch with a sprinkle of mystery, and there you go, “a new sun has risen!” not only the new girl is Hot, but she also stir a little competitive rumble as men want to be the first one to…oh silly youth…

Me, I grew up in the same place for 18 years, so I seldom knew what it was to be the new guy, after all, I had to be able to throw a stupid ball in a hoop 10 feet above ground to finally get some attention…geez, tough crowd I tell you…

Honestly, our infatuation with something new has to be blamed on our parents; from an early age, we learn that new is better, new means old is out to the garbage, new means reward, new means growth, progress, new, new, new, we want everything new…

As we grow up, most parents teach us how to steward what remains efficient, conserve what is still useful, and resist the Vanity to acquire something new just to keep up with the Jones. But despite their parental skills, many of us retain the mysticism that is associated with something new. Society reinforces the notion that a new product is better, the new color is sexier, new and improved they say, as a result, we consume, consume and consume without ever being fully satisfied.

When exported in relationships, Vanity and over-consumption is lethal and painful. Vanity makes us believe that we have earned the very best, while over-consumption tricks us in endlessly looking for something better.

We want a lady in the street, but a freak under the sheet; a gentlemen to open us the door, but a thug to rough us up. We want to work for an oil company that protects the environment, and an army that promotes peace with a nuclear weapon.

Talk about over-consumption? How about an open relationship, where we want both the exclusivity of a committed relationship, yet retain the flexibility of the single life; or the bi-sexual identity where one desires the conformity of heterosexual union, while satisfying the lust of homosexual attraction without having to choose. Mistresses, booty calls, sex buddies, etc…they all fall under the same basket of wanting everything at the same time; Gluttony.

The fear of commitment is actually the fear of passing on something better down the road; we always have to keep our options open. We want to indulge ourselves with the physical pleasure without being responsible for the emotional needs.

As I used to put it: “women are like dishes, eat it while Hot, throw it if it gets cold.”

Not proud of myself, but this is what we see, we multiply sexual partners as if we were on a mission to indulge ourselves with every partners possible. I always wonder if medical breakthrough against STD were more about defeating diseases, or ensuring that we do not alter our lifestyles…go figure

We are emotional and sexual gluttons, vain enough to think we deserve all the pleasures without working for it, and our gluttony causes us to demand more and more without ever being satisfied. Our partners have to be the top physical specimen, the most financially secure, the best sexual performer, and the most dignified human beings. As for us, we are here to consume, benefit from everything they can give us, until something better comes along, someone new, maybe younger, with bigger boobs, larger muscles, nicer booty, prettier face, larger bank account, etc…

Gluttony in relationships is that attitude that our partners are never good enough, that there is someone better out there for us, so we need to always stay on the lookout. The issue is that by constantly looking on the outside, we stop paying attention to those on the inside. We neglect what is worth working for, and prepare ourselves for the eventuality of something new.

Contrary to the Vain person who puts itself on a pedestal where few can approach him or her, the Glutton makes temporary promises that are ultimately broken; unable to secure a stable place, the glutton consumes relationships after relationships, partners after partners, leaving a trail of broken hearts behind him or her. The sad part is that one day the glutton will have no strength to feed itself, and will die of emotional starvation because nobody will be there to put up with its romantic Gluttony.

"Vain people usually never see any beauty in the world, but only in themselves... That is why everything around them, sooner or later, dies"; likewise, Emotional gluttons can never appreciate what they have, which is why everything they try to build always breaks, is abandoned and dies.

1 timothy 6:6 says "Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

So here is my Mea maxima Culpa: I have made great strides on Vanity, and have put a knife on my throat to avoid over-consuming. The problem is that I have yet to master contentment, so while I am safe from self-indulgence and over-consumption, I am unable to pick something or someone I may be content with. What does one do when he cannot choose, but is afraid to abuse, misuse or lose all? He keeps it in a safe, pretending to protect it, claiming to be able to make a choice later…however before he knows it, he doesn’t want to choose or let go, and finds satisfaction in keeping all to himself…he has fallen to the logically next sin: Avarice