What is it that you really need? Seriously. How often do you indulge in things that are not good for you? I'm not just talking about food, either. Maybe you live a very disciplined life and occasionally feel like you have earned a little bit of a treat. Another possibility is that indulgence is a part of your every day life. Either way, when used improperly, indulgence can quickly become gluttony and do you far more harm than good. My challenge to you is to monitor your input. Figure out how much you take in and how it is effecting you. I have a feeling that, for most of us, it will be a rude awakening to find out just how much in our lives that we do not actually need.
Before writing this, I wanted to know what gluttony actually was. Naturally, I had always heard about the "7 Deadly Sins" and went to the Bible to find out. It actually surprised me to find that gluttony is never mentioned in the Bible. In fact, the 7 deadly sins as a list never appear in the Bible either. Many of the concepts are mentioned or eluded to but never explicitly mentioned. Therefore, my search took me elsewhere.
When the Catholic church came up with the list, gluttony had an aura of lacking self-discipline. It was a life spinning out of control because of the numerous indulgences. As I began thinking on this concept, I realized that many lives today are affected by over-indulgence. For the purposes of this post, we will look at over-indulgence as taking in more than you really need. I also want to get away from the mindset that this only includes food, but instead, look at it from a self-discipline perspective.
Take technology/social media as a prominent example in our society. How often do we take a break from our productivity or what we are doing to check Facebook, Twitter, etc? The funny thing is that, most of the time, the short, deserved break quickly becomes a long undeserved break. Technology and social media are tools to be used, but when any tool is used more than it is needed, something ends up damaged or broken.
Another example is in the television we watch. Keep in mind, a deserved break is one thing, but if you constantly leave the tube with a headache because of the length of time spent in front of it, that is where the issue comes in.
I think it is also important to note here that you can desensitize yourself to the amount of something you really need. Food is an excellent example. Did you know that your stomach will actually stretch out to suit what you put inside of it? The reason for this is that the rest of your body trusts your brain to tell it what it needs. If you eat an entire pizza every night and then you only eat half of one, your body will tell you that it is hungry because it is in a constant state of being over-fed.
What is the best way to find out if you have become desensitized? Eliminate the act for a reasonable period of time and see how you feel. Skip a night of TV for a good book. If you miss it, you were probably indulging more than you should have been. Skip dessert. Go for a weekend technology fast.
Human vices are so diverse that there is no way they could all be covered here. But I do want for you to start thinking about the things in your life that are essentials and those that are indulgences. Think about what really makes you a better person and what is just for fun. You need occasional indulgences in your life. But be disciplined. Plan them. They will serve you better as planned indulgences than as undisciplined gluttony. If it does not make you into a better person, it is negative, or just plain damaging to your self-image and those around you, get it out. Indulge occasionally. But be disciplined in keeping it as far away from your life as possible. Be mindful of what you put in because it will affect what you get out.
Stay classy,
Andrew
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