In the last two issues I presented two of the three fundamental causes of Talkativeness, a bad/relaxed Lifestyle and Vainglory. The third cause that St. John enumerates is Gluttony.

This may seem a more surprising cause of talkativeness. But the reason for it is fairly straightforward. The more lax we are in disciplining our bodies, the less restrained our words. It is no coincidence that food and drink almost always are included in social interaction. Talking and consumption nearly always go hand in hand, at least according to John. Sometimes this rather natural combination, while most frequently innocent, can become a more serious problem as in the case with people who find it extremely difficult to socialize if they are not at least slightly inebriated. It seems to be a common wives’ tale that drinking can make us more sociable. While drunkenness is not usually considered gluttony, in reality it is a common form of it. Drunkenness seems to be closely connected to talkativeness and/or   arguments, being determined by the person’s response to alcohol. When gluttony leads to inebriation, we often lose complete control of our tongue. Therefore, we must guard ourselves against excess if we are to keep our tongues disciplined. (One wonders how St. John came to this conclusion living in a monastery).

It would be a mistake to limit our understanding of talkativeness to the tongue. One can do as much harm with the written word as he can with the spoken word. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our modern forms of digital communication, such as Twitter and Facebook. Just consider how these social media are being used in our modern world. Cyber bullying is a real phenomenon in our modern world.