Gula – gluttony; throat; appetite; gullet; palate; engorgement
– WordHippo
Well that certainly sets the stage, doesn’t it? The Latin gula covers everything we think of when we traditionally think of gluttony and then some. (Of course there’s more to it than we immediately think of; this is life, mind you!)
So what exactly does it mean?
This would have been sufficient. It was delicious, too! 
But the buffalo chicken wings were on special… 
And I so wanted to try the tea… 
And this loaded tater tots concoction came highly recommended… 
Seriously, this corn bread? Just had to try it.
An Aside: It’s Complicated – Gluttony, That Is
In my research, I’m finding that I’m not the only person confused by gluttony. (Thank you, God!) Some sources seem to conflict, and at least one appears to self-conflict, so sorting through this stuff is interesting to say the least. Given the nature of the contradictions, I’ll use the always-reliable sources sources – the Bible, the Catechism, Saint Thomas Aquinas – and sources that neither conflict with these nor with themselves (nor muddy the waters). I’m sifting, but please forgive me if I miss a mark, and if you spot something, please help me out by letting me know what’s off base; I’m trying to better my understanding.
(I literally ex-nayed a source because it said to not add salt, butter, “or anything that enhances the flavor of food.” And then, if you get light-headed because you skip lunch, “tell yourself that you will be eating again” later. Are you kidding me? If I get light headed, the next stop tends to be dizziness, and I’m not driving home from work with my head spinning because that’s dangerous. Don’t hurt anyone – yourself or others – because an ill-planned thought would rather have you endangering lives than to be tempting gluttony. More on this tomorrow.)
Anyway, here’s to God making my efforts worth something!
Gula = Gluttony
Why is Gluttony so Confusing?
Gluttony – habitual greed or excess in eating
– Oxford dictionary
This seems simple enough… except that many standard definitions are preoccupied with food. Gluttony is much more akin to greed than these definitions recognize because it’s not specific to food. I rather struggle with the idea of separating the two except for thoughts of Parker from Leverage: she’s firmly in the greed realm because she wants money not for things, not to use it to get other stuff, but rather like a collection that she insatiably wants to add more and more to. In contrast, someone with gluttony would use what they have to excess – either by buying stuff or by swimming in their fortune like Scrooge McDuck.
It’s easiest to dive into the gluttony topic with food, though, because that’s the way we understand it. So, let’s start there with the understanding that it’s a starting point, not the whole of the sin.
How long could we allow this beast
– Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
To gorge and guzzle, feed and feast
On everything he wanted to?
Great Scott! It simply wouldn’t do!
However long this pig might live,
We’re positive he’d never give
Even the smallest bit of fun
Or happiness to anyone.
Roald Dahl shows his talent for simplifying making the topic accessible, identifying the crux of the issue for us: indulging such that it detracts from our relationships with others as well as with ourselves because the only thing that matters is the indulgence. Let’s return to our definition of sin.
So much sushi! 
Look how excellently that was crafted! 
The best roll of the bunch! 
And crab rangoon… 
Even the small details were given great care.
Review: What is Sin, Again?
Here are our working definitions:
– 1.0.2: What Is Sin?
– Theist: sin is intentionally acting against the will of God.
– Secular: sin is intentionally doing wrong.
Stress on “working definition;” I made these up as a baseline. It’s nice to know there’s a foundation for the base, though, so for those so inclined to more thorough explanation and explained thought, I’m also popping the Catechism’s definition here:
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods.
– Catechism of the Catholic Church
Generally speaking, it’s sinful to do draw ourselves away from love – love of God, love of others, and love of ourselves. Yes, ourselves, too – and we may need to use tough love on ourselves by trying, trying again. Regardless of the form it takes, we are called to love, and anything that we allow to interfere with that is sinful.
So what does this have to do with gluttony?
What Makes Gluttony Sinful?
Gluttony turns us away from love of people by expending all of that love instead on stuff, often food. It’s not necessarily the love of, but the excessive interest in. It’s okay to enjoy or dislike your meal, but it shouldn’t be all-consuming either for or against the food. Food exists to nourish us, and we should use it as a tool to that end.
Gluttony is a disordered use of food and of the pleasure that eating and drinking gives us.
– Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, When Does Eating Become Gluttony?
Think of it like a hammer. If you’re building something and you use a hammer, it’s nice to have a nice hammer: good, sturdy, a pliable grip on a firm handle. Maybe you can appreciate its balance, its beauty, and the tone it makes when it strikes the nail – or maybe it makes no difference to you to use a rock. Either way, it gets the job done, and once the job is done, you put the tool away for the next time you need it.
Hopefully you’re not obsessing about the hammer: is it trendy enough, pretty enough, the best available, something your friends will admire – or something they’ll judge you negatively for using. The question is whether or not it got the job done. Yes? Good. No? Put a new hammer on your Christmas wishlist for Santa and move on. Or maybe you have a hammer on your wishlist and like your friend’s, so you ask where you can get one. But the internal conversation ends here.
It’s the same with food: we shouldn’t spend unnecessary time or energy on obsessing over it. Maybe you enjoyed an experience; that’s great! Maybe you didn’t; it’s something to learn from, at least. The problem is the refusal to let it go. In common vernacular, we are called to live to eat, not to eat to live.
Again, this can go to the other extreme as well. Specifically, we can loathe food and the pleasure it brings. This can be for a number of reasons: our struggles with our relationships with food, or with others, or with ourselves, for example. If food has such a negative connotation that it preoccupies the mind, that, too, tends toward a form of gluttony.
It’s Not Just Food
Food is the most well-recognized offender of gluttony, but there are other venues as well. Gluttony is the excessive interest or indulgence in something, and that can take many forms. An example Father Mike Schmitz gives is with television.
Do you enjoy television? What are your favorite shows? Have you been sucked into anything lately? Maybe you discovered an awesome new series accidentally when taking a break from writing your term paper… and suddenly it’s been six hours and that term paper isn’t nearly as complete as the season you’re working through.
That’s gluttony. It’s the preoccupation with or indulgence in something that sucks you away from (tough) love of yourself, the work you have to do. That’s why many parents limit the screen time of their kids: to teach them to control just such urges (and improve overall health).
Habits that are generally recognized as healthy can also be avenues for gluttony, too. A solid workout each day is stellar, but if your workout routine starts taking over the rest of your life, it might be time to re-think it. An hour run in the morning, a long lunch for a gym break, and then a full evening on the machines may cross the line from overkill to gluttony depending on your mental state.
Does Gluttony Hurt Anyone?
Yes. First of all, it hurts you: this preoccupation with food – or other stuff – squanders your resources. It’s probably pretty unhealthy, too – even if it’s healthy. (Your muscles need rest, too.)
Second of all, it detracts from your relationships with others. Where would that energy go if instead of spending it on indulgence you spent it on loved ones? If you watched one fewer episode, who would you spend those forty-two minutes with? If you took back your nights from the extra workouts, which friends would you reconnect with? If you weren’t waiting on the restaurant to get that crème fraîche dessert perfect, how would you spend that half-hour with the person across the table?
Again, it’s not the thing itself that’s sinful, it’s the giving into its draw away from love.
For many… live as enemies of the cross of Christ: their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
– Philippians 3:18-19
Summary
Gluttony is an inordinate or unhealthy interest in indulgence that detracts from our lives. Food is often cited, but it can come in many forms. We should enjoy things, but we cross the line into gluttony when something gets obsessive and damages our relationships with ourselves and others. Gluttony is the love of an indulgence more than the love of love.
Further Investigations
This section must be renamed! At least for today, “reading” doesn’t apply to everything: we have a video/podcast on the list. :-}
- Father Mike Schmitz: What is the Sin of Gluttony?
Everything Father Mike does is gold; I highly recommend checking out his work with Ascension Presents or Bulldog Catholic. This is a six-minute video explaining gluttony simply yet in ways I’d never thought of, and his presentation style is fun and relatable. And addictive – it’s difficult to watch just one. (Also available on podcast with an extra 30 seconds – but you miss the epic “humph!” face about halfway through the video.) - Alimentarium is a foundation dedicated to the history of the human relationship with food. It fittingly offers a fascinating article about gluttony, presenting a feast of information citing to sources throughout the ages, compiling it in a short and interesting read. It even leaves a sort of cliffhanger as we don’t know what tomorrow will bring! (And, of course, the cool name has a meaning, too: it’s taken from the system that makes food absorbable into the body.)
