’Tis the day after Thanksgiving (in America), and how do you feel?
Did you eat do much that your sleep was disturbed?
My go-to for Christian advice on living (mixed with a dose of modern common sense) are the Desert Fathers. Yes, they were a weird group. Yet, they had such deep insights.
I consulted them about gluttony.
The desert fathers considered gluttony one of the first passions to be conquered because control over bodily appetites was seen as foundational to spiritual progress. They believed that if someone couldn’t master their appetite for food, they would struggle with more subtle temptations.
During the 4th-6th Centuries, fasting was commonplace among monks. However, many emphasized moderation. Eat only what is necessary to sustain life. Eat at set times (I write as I eye the basket of potato chips across the room where I’m writing this).
The fathers saw gluttony as slavery to bodily desires and a lack of self-control that would manifest in other areas. It is an obstacle to clear thinking and spiritual discernment.
The goal is freedom from obsession with food, not punishing the body.
Evagrius Ponticus, one of the most systematic of the desert fathers, listed gluttony first among the eight evil thoughts (which later became the seven deadly sins in Western Christianity), showing how fundamental they considered this struggle.
So, one large celebration meal with family and friends is hardly gluttony. It just makes you sick. Dwelling on the thought of food—well, that’s something to watch out for.
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Faith Venture 
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