Appetites

Thanks to pastor/theologians Rob Bell and Greg Boyd, as well as writer Kathleen Norris, I have been thinking about the nature of appetites and spirituality. Being on one diet or another constantly for about 5 months, I have at the same time listened to and read what people have said about gluttony and in a more general (as opposed to simply sexual)sense lust. It has been both fascinating and motivating (although I think many thin people wrongly assume extra weight is a simple result of gluttony, when in fact it has many biological and socio-economic factors tied in with it.).

One thing that I have noticed is that when one desire is sublimated, other desires come to the forefront. Since I have started this most recent phase of my diet, I find myself spending more time at work. Kathleen Norris talks about this in monastic life, how people living monastic lives of celebacy find themselves struggling with alcoholism, overeating, or working too much.

All this makes me wonder if part of the reason for a call to discipline in Christian life is more than a call to holiness. Maybe, when we indulge one pleasure too much, we miss out on the variety of pleasures this world has to offer.

This is all just kind of forming in my mind, but I think it makes at least a little sense.