Gluttony

THURS., APR. 18, 1985, 6:41 AM
HOLIDAY INN, ATLANTA

By older standards in the faith called Christian there was a sin called gluttony. You experienced the physical result of that last evening, and it was uncomfortable enough to become the basis for a good lesson on this bright, comfortable morning. I speak, and you hear, and the subject is gluttony.

While the term is used most commonly to refer to excess intake of food, it can also be a referent to excessiveness in other ways (though it then shades into drunkenness, greed, and other terms for excess). It is a sin… yes, IS, not was… because the excess can harm the body and because it is symbolic selfishness. Now since this is not a regular practice of yours, the excess of last evening could not have inflicted harm on a body in good health. This can give you another reason for relative fasting during this week… a reason that has more spiritual motive than merely saving money. Giving up something good because you have misused that good (which, yes, could be called a penance) is still good in My sight, when the motive is yours, personally.

Now I certainly realize that yours is an affluent culture, and the restaurant last evening was, with its excessive food, a flaming example of such affluence. Still I call you to appreciate the inequity of distribution of even the necessities of life here in the earth. You cannot directly rectify the innumerable situations that make up this inequity, but you can act in ways that symbolically protest this condition. You do this at home in your willingness to retrieve throwaway vegetables and fruits and feed them to your animals. Rather than becoming garbage waste they sustain more life, for the benefit of you and others. This is anti-gluttony behavior in the social sense.

Fasting is a more personal form of anti-gluttony action. To give it more spiritual “punch” you should consciously set aside the money that would be spent on food and give it to St. Labre or Princess Pale Moon for Indian children who share little in the affluence of the dominant, culture. Don’t flaunt the practice, but don’t hide it, either. Spiritual practices should be shared whenever feasible.

This topic is covered sufficiently for this day, but as long as you are here and have another whole page that is Mine to fill I shall speak of matters like unto gluttony. In your conference of last weekend you considered yet again you financial situation and its (financial) karmic origins. I shall not tell you of this (only say that it is possible), but shall assure you that your motives to pay your bills and have money to give to Me, in many indirect ways, are appreciated. If these are your motives, you might well ask why I don’t allow you more financial reward in order that you might enjoy the experiences of giving it back to Me through these many blessed causes that seek your help? I have considered this, and it always is a possibility, so if you should have a windfall of some sort you must remember these motives, and not fall into the snare of benefitting self first and lavishly.