Freedom from Gluttony Comes First

We too must first give proof that we are free from slavery to the flesh. For “whatever overcomes a man, to that he is a slave.” And “everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” When the judge of the contest examines us and finds us stained by no disgrace of shameful lust, and when he judges that we are not slaves of the flesh, low-born and unworthy of the Olympic struggle against our vices, then we will be able to enter the contest against our equals, that is, the lusts of the flesh and the stirrings and disturbances of the soul. For a full stomach cannot possibly take on the combat of the inner man. And a man who can be beaten in a slight skirmish is not worthy to be tested in harder battles. [a]