Can I say no? Gluttony and Self-Mastery

by Joannie Watson | March 21, 2025 1:00 am

Everything in Moderation

Like the deadly sin of avarice, the danger in a narrow definition of gluttony is that we might write it off as a problem other people deal with, but not us. Narrowly speaking, gluttony is “taking unreasonable pleasure in food and drink.” Perhaps we think of Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or another extreme. That’s not me! I try to eat healthy! Moving on…

But not so fast! We can be gluttonous is a lot of things other than food or drink. At its heart, gluttony is a failure of temperance. We can be gluttonous in our use of social media, watching television, sleeping in, or even talking.

It’s not that these things are wrong. In fact, they are good! Food and drink are gifts of God, and he wants us to enjoy them. We believe that the material world is good, and that these things should be used for good. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking pleasure in them.

But these things must be in the proper place, at the proper time, and never rule us. Like money, they are not evil in and of themselves, but we can use them evil or love them out of order. Food and drink are necessities of life! And we should enjoy them. But they shouldn’t enslave us. We shouldn’t eat until we are sick or drink until we are drunk. We should be moderate in our pleasure-seeking, remembering that ultimately this earth does not give us lasting joy. Only God does.

Sleeping in, watching television, talking with our friends… we are called to discipline ourselves and seek moderation in all of these pleasures. Not because these things are bad, but because we have to have the discipline to keep them from controlling us.

This is one of the reasons we fast during Lent. Saying no to our bodily desires is not easy. We need to train our bodies to listen to our intellects. And when I’m full, I need to tell my body, no, you want that chocolate cake, but you don’t need that chocolate cake, and you can say no to that chocolate cake. When I’m feeling the effects of alcohol and I know one more drink will cause me to lose my reason and my ability to use my free will – then I need to say no.

Ice cream is good, but heaven is better. A glass of whiskey is good, but I do not have to have it at this moment. These good things are gifts from God, but they do not rule me. I can say no, and I choose to say no. The Catechism admits that self-mastery is “a long and exacting work” (CCC 2342). Different things will be temptations to different people, and different things might be tempting to us at different times in our lives.

It can be easy for us to be ruled by our passions – by our desire for pleasure, by earthly goods. We probably can see this most clearly in addictions to drugs or alcohol or sex. But if we’re honest, there is some pleasure, instinct, or desire that enslaves us in some way. There is something in our life that is hard to say “no” to, whether it’s binging a show on Netflix, hitting our snooze button, or snacking. The temperate person is able to recognize the goodness in these things – whether it’s chocolate or sleeping – but be able to say no to them when needed.

Examine

When we stop to look at our lives, do we see gluttony at work there?

Do I eat more than I need? Do I continue to eat after I feel full?
Do I drink alcohol excessively? Do I drive after drinking?
Do I eat greedily and with little consideration for those at the table with me? Do I take the last roll or slice of pizza when I don’t need it?
Do I abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent and follow the Church’s guidelines for fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?

We automatically think of “gluttony” as only being in the sense of gorging ourselves with food – but in a sense, even exercise or a preoccupation with our health or looks can be “gluttonous” if it becomes our god. Even good things can become an obsessions if they take the place in our lives that is supposed to be filled with family, our vocations, and God.

Do I allow things in my life to control me? Do I find it hard to say no to things that I desire?

Eradicate

How can we pursue temperance and root out the sin of gluttony?

This week, look at where you might be indulging too much, where you might be struggling to tell your desire for something ‘no, not now.” Fast from that.
Fast from something edible. Skip a meal. Feel hunger. Maybe leave a meal hungry.
Fast from some other pleasure. Maybe social media, maybe television, maybe from music. Not because it’s bad, but because you can say no to it healthily and build up good habits.

And as always, pray and ask God for help this week, especially when you feel drawn to that thing you want to fast from. It’s all only possible with his help.

Image credit: Photo by Fábio Alves[1] on Unsplash[2]

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Endnotes:

Fábio Alves: https://unsplash.com/@barncreative?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash
Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-wooden-table-topped-with-lots-of-food-dGnX4WwRMw4?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash

Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2025/03/watson-can-i-say-no-gluttony-and-self-mastery/