“Gluttony Is Not Good”

A number of years ago while visiting friends in Los Angeles, we went to dinner at this very wonderful and very large smorgasbord with every kind of seafood and beef and salads and desserts and drinks. … all you could eat. There was sushi beyond description, king crab, oysters, steak, etc. I almost fainted when I walked in the door. They took us to our table and we began to map out our strategy; Eisenhower would have been impressed with our attention to detail…. “pace yourself….don’t start with a lot of bread… forget the jello.” Our friends were professionals. But to be honest, “my eyes were bigger than my appetite”, and it was almost too much. I couldn’t take it all in, and I ended with the dreaded “tummy ache blues”.

Back in 1972 after experiencing the “baptism in the Holy Spirit”, I was on fire for the Lord. I was always looking for the latest information on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal…. “hey did you read that new book by Fr. Mike Scanlan? Did you see that Pope Paul VI met with Steve Clark and Ralph Martin?” There just weren’t enough available books. 

Well today, there is a spiritual  smorgasbord of books and podcasts. Like the Café Sierra seafood smorgasbord in LA, the amount of wonderful, anointed, spiritual food available today is overwhelming. It’s too much. Every day I receive e-mails from so many great sources. I have too many good books that I haven’t read. I can feel guilty if I’m not reading the latest. And to be honest, I’ve contributed to this crisis with “Dave’s BLOG” which is must reading for anyone who calls themself a Christian. What to do, what to do??? 

Well, gluttony is not a good thing regardless if it’s regular ole “food & drink” gluttony or “spiritual gluttony”. Taking in more than we need brings indigestion. So my recommendation is to ask the Holy Spirit for help. 

As we move into the last week of Lent, let’s ask our dear Lord to show us what should be making up our prayer time? More is not necessarily better. Lord help me to navigate this wonderful banquet of spiritual opportunities. May whatever I consume, lead to a stronger and holier life in Christ.