Seven Virtues for Seven Sins: Week Five

 

Gluttony and Lust/Abstinence and Chastity

Proverbs23:1-8


Photo by mche lee on unsplash

I am not sure I agree with these traditional responses to gluttony and lust.  I don’t think abstinence and chastity are going to get us far in our culture.  I think restraint is a better virtue.  Knowing when to say no, not now.  Our desires can motivate us to excellence in our work, in our relationships and in our healthy living.  Food, drink and sex are not the only things we can get obsessive about.  Exercise, health foods, social media, even meditation can become gluttonous in our culture.  In our desire to find a sense of peace and security and comfort in our lives, we turn to anything that offers a quick fix. 

Restraint, discipline, and hard work for long term rewards are not things our culture values. We are enjoying a comfortable retirement now because we practiced some restraint over the past forty-five years of our marriage.  Many of our contemporaries are not in the same position. 

Our individual display of the virtue of restraint might seem inconsequential now but as our world moves closer to the brink of climate disaster, it could make a difference in the long run.  Surely choosing restraint is preferable to having scarcity forced upon you.

If you want to think a bit more read and contemplate: 

Mark 14:1-9     The Anointing at Bethany           

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