It’s understandable that we’d confuse gluttony and greed because both are all about indulgence. However, gluttony is more self-indulgent than greed. It is the definition of overindulgence, where greed is more about being avaricious.

One way to think of it is that greed is about having for the sake of having, and gluttony is having for the sake of consuming. That’s why gluttony is always associated with eating. And it doesn’t necessarily involve others like greed tends to do.

Gluttony can also be associated with anything that a person can have or do for themselves. Anything that you can overindulge in that doesn’t involve taking into your body can be gluttonous: gambling, shopping, and hoarding are prime examples. And the consequences of gluttony are always harmful to the person engaged in the act. Particularly, the health of the person is affected.

Gluttony seems to be associated with a lack of impulse control, and also a method of filling in some empty void or hole that is bottomless.