Gluttony is often thought of as an old-fashioned no-no. These days, people get more worked up about the sexier sins – things like lying, murder and, well, those involving sex.
It was hard not to think about gluttony, though, while watching “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” A computer-animated adaptation of a children’s picture book, the movie delivers exactly what the title promises: manna – and much, much more – from heaven.
Flint Lockwood, the film’s hero, is a wannabe inventor who has finally hit upon success. His latest machine transforms water into ready-made meals. When a mishap sends the invention into the atmosphere, however, it starts raining ketchup and hot dogs.
At first, everyone hails Flint as a hero, even renaming their town Chewandswallow. People walk around with their heads tilted back and their mouths open. Instead of sledding down a hill of snow, kids frolic in ice cream. A new, upscale restaurant opens – sans roof. And in case that wasn’t enough excess, the movie is also in 3-D.
Then things start to go wrong, and I don’t mean the fact that the mayor quadruples in size. The food itself grows larger, until the chance of being flattened by a giant slice of bread becomes a distinct possibility.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is visually inventive and exceptionally witty, yet the most striking thing about the movie is the way it evolves into a parable of conspicuous consumption – a modern phenomenon of which gluttony is an essential element.
The town of Chewandswallow, in fact, could stand in for all of America, the land of half-pound burgers, super-size sodas and all-you-can-eat buffets. Certainly the recession has curtailed these tendencies a bit – we’re being forced to veer away from big meals, big houses and big cars - but keep in mind that the recession itself was caused, to a significant degree, by our gluttonous desire to attain things we didn’t need and couldn’t afford.
In our obesity age, gluttony might actually be one of the more relevant sins. Did those 3-D glasses affect my thinking, or would you agree?
Login to comment
Alternate Login
Use your social media account to login.
Login with your ReFrame account
Comments (11)
I believe that God filled the earth with good things for us, and that includes good things to eat. We are meant to enjoy this world God has created for us. But not just enjoy it; we are supposed to look beyond our own needs and desires and become good stewards before we become good consumers.
(Btw - I sometimes think that food gluttony is a bit of a cop-out. It is a problem facing many areas of life. While the obese certainly aren't blameless, they also are an easy target in our society.)
What really kills me is pictures of fat American "missionaries" surrounded by skinny, starving native children.
I understand part of it is our diet, and some may be medicine or genetic related, but the biggest reason for America's obesity is lack of self control.
Um...maybe because the word is not in the Bible? Pope Gregory during the dark ages concocted a list of 7 deadly sins which included "Lust", "Gluttony", "Greed", "Sloth", "Wrath", "Envy", and "Pride". You’ll be happy to note that gluttony, a word not found in the Bible, is classified a Venial sin, rather than a mortal sin by Catholic Theologians. In fact, St Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:
Praepropere - eating too soon.
Laute - eating too expensively (washedly).
Nimis - eating too much.
Ardenter - eating too eagerly (burningly).
Studiose - eating too daintily (keenly).
Forente - eating wildly (boringly).
So for those of you that need to find some more sins to hand out, there’s a lot of good material in the Summa Theologica. A good remedy for gluttony in the Middle ages was the hair shirt, as a means of bodily mortification and as an aid to the wearer in resisting temptations of the flesh. It served as an unostentatious antidote for the outward luxury and comfort of their lives.
I agree with Jessica.
King James: 0
New American Standard: 0
Amplified; 0
English Standard version: 0
Young's Literal Translation : 0
NIV: 1
A. "When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive) this verse is about being careful when dining with a king. The new Living translation says "don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you."
New Living Translation: 2
A. Numbers 11:34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.
The sin here was not trusting God for their sustenance. The NIV says "But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. They had sinned before they ever consumed the meat.
B. "Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door." New American Standard, which is generally considered the most literal of all translations says "she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy." Sodom's sin was having more than enough food and not sharing.
It is definitely an overlooked issue, I'd say. More food for thought (unintentional pun there)? Gluttony-- for food, for items, etc. often leads to idolatry of said things.
Again, it's a children's story, so we must be careful not to dissect it too much (e.g. surely the people on the island could have imported food other than sardines to solve their "problem"). But it's nice to see a morality tale done in such a fun way.
By the way, I am obese. It's a combination of medical and self-control problems, and I've battled it all my life. Our pastor has successfully lost a lot of weight, and kindly includes exhortation concerning the stewardship of our bodies in his preaching.
It is a national as well as a personal problem. Pray for those of us attempting to fight the good fight in this area...
"What really kills me is pictures of fat American "missionaries" surrounded by skinny, starving native children."
Why did you put the word missionaries in quotes? You are implying that overweight missionaries are not "real" missionaries because they aren't perfect? Well, if that's the case, Christians should forget trying to share the gospel with anyone because none of us are perfect. Obviously, that is a ridiculous statement. You need to check your judgement. These people are actively doing God's work. I admire anyone who does that! Perhaps you need to focus on what you're doing.