Compared to your grandparents' time the world today has become a consumerist society where anything you want is easily available.  Gone are the days when food was rationed and people needed to be conservative in the use of their resources.  It is because of modern conveniences that the third of the seven deadly sins -- gluttony -- is so easy to fall prey to.
Gluttony, or the overindulgence in things, is considered the most self-destructive of the cardinal sins which include pride, lust, greed, sloth, wrath and envy.  This is a sin that was easier to avoid when the necessities, much less the luxuries, were hard to come by.  But today it is an everyday wrong people do without thinking.
Cynthia Riley-Cox says the gluttonous nature of young people today is something that greatly disturbs her.
"Long gone is the time when people were rationing what they had or were at least reasonable in what they did with it.  Now, it's a shame to see my grandchildren just eating and drinking so freely when this was unheard of in my days," says 87-year-old Riley-Cox.  "Even if you had the money to feed your children a lot you surely did not do it more than the three times a day."
She says things like chicken and steak were rare, and even if your family could afford it you still only got a little.  Treats like ice cream and cake came once a week, if that often, and you had to save up for when you wanted something special.
"Now people can eat, drink and wear whatever they want, and it's not good. I see my children and their children destroying and killing themselves before me because they can't control themselves.  They eat, drink and smoke themselves to death.  I never saw so much unhealthy things in my life.  It's a shame."
Making certain sins cardinal above others is done for a reason beyond putting fear in the believer says Bishop Gilbert A. Thompson, assistant bishop of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.  He says the seven deadly sins are not just harmful acts at the moment they are done, but a lifetime of committing sins like gluttony ends up being a recipe for disaster -- not only in a person's spiritual life, but physically as well.
"Gluttony is a failure to observe moderation. It can occur in any form -- be it food, drink or work," said Thompson. "The ancient philosophers spoke about a happy man, that means you use God's creation properly. The earth is here for us, but in order for everything to go around properly we need to have a proper balance.
"They say you use. you refuse, you abuse but most people today do not do as they should.  They may feel they aren't harming anyone with their practices, but in fact they are impacting themselves and those around them in more ways than one.  People neglect their family, children and just ruin their own health with their overindulgent personalities.  They don't realize the burden it all is until it is too late."
The Anglican prelate says more people should try their best to avoid this sin by praying and fasting so God can lead them in the right direction.
"If you never knew how to exhibit self-control before it is advised you learn now before it is too late.  Many people do not know how to differentiate between what is good or necessary and what is over-indulgent and pleasureable.  At times it's alright to go the extra mile at work, or eat a little more cake, but when you make a lifestyle of it and do not know how to stop indulging once you have started, it is clear you are addicted or have a deeper spiritual need that needs to be fulfilled."
Catholic priest Father David Cooper, priest at St. Michael's in West End, Grand Bahama, says gluttony is a dangerous thing to let yourself get caught up doing.  Much like drug addiction which can ultimately ruin your life, he says the overuse of other seemingly harmless things in your life can be just as detrimental.
"Gluttony happens often when people know they are full but still say 'I'll have some more, I'll have some more.'  It may not seem all that big-of-a-deal, but imagine doing this again and again at every meal for years," says the priest. "You will be eating twice or three times as much as you need to, and it can lead to health problems that you never had to experience.  The thing about gluttony is (the things) you overindulge in usually are not bad things in the beginning -- things like food, drink or medication.  There is nothing wrong with these things in moderation, but it's when you eat too much, drink until you are drunk or allow medication to become your crutch to get through life that you are putting your soul and your physical self in danger.  It is a slow and self-destructive sin and many people are still doing it day in and day out."
Much like the popular Bahamian song "The Banquet" by Eddie Minnis where a Bahamian eats himself to death, he says this is the same unfortunate fate that many people today will be facing in a few short years due to overindulgence.  He says simple everyday illnesses that most people are prone to, strike many persons down because their bodies are overtaxed with digesting large amounts of artificially made food or strong liquors.
Cooper says too many people are weakening their bodies by letting the demon of gluttony control them.
"When you see yourself indulging in gluttonous acts it's not just a sign that you are overcompensating for something in your life, it is also a sign of spiritual deprivation," says the priest.  "You need to seriously look within yourself when you find it is uncontrollable.  Something is seriously wrong in your life itself if this is something you absolutely need to be doing and you need to return to church or seek more help from God and those who can assist you to get over it."
God gave mankind the original example of how to balance everything by taking a day to rest for Himself after He created the world, but Bishop Arnold Josey, senior pastor at Commonwealth Baptist Church, says many people do not appreciate the example or the fact that other things in life can become overindulgent in which can wreak havoc in lives.
Things like overeating and drinking causes illnesses and conditions that lead to medical bills, emotional and financial burden on family members and even your untimely death.  At the end of the day you want to have a balance in your life as God intended because like most  tragedies, things all seem small and insignificant until it snowballs into an avalanche. You do not want your life to go off-course if all it takes is showing a little self-control and praying to God to help get you through it all.
"Years ago many of the same illnesses we see today did not happen as frequently although there were gluttons in the old days too.  Most of the time it could have been more genetically related, but today most people getting high blood pressure, cancers, strokes, diabetes and more have it due to their lifestyle.  What we have available to us today is not what was available years ago.  Eating out is common, drinking everyday is common, oversleeping or overworking is common.  The saying that too much of anything is not good is especially true in our lives today.  Many people lead dysfunctional lives because they do not balance everything in their lives properly.  Whenever these urges come, Christians should really practice their self control.  God can provide guidance because it is harder for some whose gluttonous natures have led to addictions," he says.
 
Over the next four weeks, The Nassau Guardian will engage a number of ministers of religion on the topic of the Seven Cardinal Sins. They will dissect each one and talk about relevance of the deadly sins to the twenty-first century societies.

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