Saturday, April 5, 2008

THOUGHT: Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins; a phrase we have probably heard, but not a topic that we are deeply familiar with. But here is the quick premise: how does a literate Church teach a mostly illiterate population about living safely and effectively in trying times. They came up with this idea of looking at sins that we see as more private matters and focusing on them. So then, we get this list that shows up in many different forms: please avoid
Pride
: excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with one's recognition of the grace of God. Perhaps the sin that all others grow from.
Envy: the desire of other's traits, status, abilities or situation. Not satisfied with what God has provided.
Gluttony: an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires. Over-indulgence, over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. This sin was also seen as taking away from the needy.
Lust: an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Excessive love of things and people other than God which would make love of God secondary or worse.
Anger: manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury, rage or wrath.
Greed: the desire for material wealth or gain while ignoring the spiritual. Again, this sin would be seen as taking from the needy.
Sloth: avoidance of spiritual or physical work through laziness, mental disconnection, moroseness, sadness or apathy.
These deadly sins were partnered up against Seven Heavenly Virtues: faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance and prudence.
Consider these further seven traits considered to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity by Gandhi:
  1. Wealth Without Work
  2. Pleasure Without Conscience
  3. Knowledge Without Character
  4. Science Without Humanity
  5. Politics Without Principle
  6. Commerce Without Morality
  7. Worship Without Sacrifice
Truly these are a plague to our emerging culture. We need voices to speak out. No. To cry out against these things that glorify the self and ignore the community.
The seven deadly sins all focus on me and ignore others; the way of Jesus has always been to consider others before ourselves. Thus, the seven heavenly virtues all focus on my actions to another while the sins focus on my own private world. My own private world is a hotbed for sin and dysfunction, while the common world that we all share is a haven of opportunity for selfless behaviour that honours God and aids our fellow humanity.
Therefore, live in such a way that you may aid the change of our world to reflect the Kingdom of Heaven.
g-ram

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

G-Ram,

After seeing that you have a blog I now feel like such a luddite.


Justin's Dad