Confession 8
June 22, 2009
Today I reflect on gluttony. Obesity in our country is skyrocketing and is a significant killer and disease promoter. More is better. Enough is a foreign and dirty word. There is an insatiable desire to take all kinds of things in, to consume and then to consume some more. We attempt to satisfy deep desires through gorging. Some want to attribute this kind of behavior (taking in more than needed while we can so that when we can’t we balance things out) in us to some primordial remnant in our DNA. The truth is, there is a whole industry that survives on our gluttony (taking in more of everything than needed). They have mounted an all out offensive against temperance. And we by choice oblige.
Beebe and Foster, in Longing for God, suggest that such behavior reflects a loss of confidence in God’s provision. We overwork to compensate for the fear of losing our jobs. We overeat… We over-consume… We supersize… If a little is good more has got to be better.
It used to be said by our ancestors that moderation is best. Beebe and Foster say temperance recognizes that there will always be more to come and that God will provide. This antidote to gluttony, temperance, when cultivated and practiced, enables us to trust and to hope in what we cannot see today. Future needs are left to God to supply and hoarding now or building bigger barns shows a lack of willingness to follow God.
Recently, I have reawakened to simply eating only what I need not what I want. A colleague said to me a little while ago when my order from the menu came in at half the amount I was expecting: “Perhaps they gave you what you need and not what you want.” Ouch. This way of looking at abundance is actually freeing. I don’t need a second helping. I don’t need another gadget. I don’t need another whatever. I need to rest in enough.
Prayer: Dear Lord, many of us are guilty of intemperance or gluttony in many of our activities in life. I confess that in my circles we minimize gluttony and use a “euphemism” for it (He has a healthy appetite, He Ioves to eat!). Forgive us our blindness. Satisfy us with yourself that we may be content. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
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