The Seven Deadly Sins - Recognize Any of Them?

Last time we talked about the Seven Heavenly (Helpful) Virtues. This post is about the Seven Deadly (Harmful) Sins. Because there is a need for balance in the universe, each of the virtues is balanced by a deadly or harmful sin. I've shown the balancing virtues in parentheses.

Lust (Self-Control) is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Lots of people think only of sexuality here, but we need to think of larger area of sensuality. Sensuality is the craving for physical pleasures of all kinds.

• An inordinate desire to avoid pain;


• For physical and even emotional comfort;


• The best food and wine;


• The best looking car;


• The best and quickest fix to mask our emotional pain;


• You probably can add many more things to this list from your personal experience.

Lust promotes the lie that "this is all there is, and the frustration that we may be missing something we deserve. We try to make a heaven on earth, but instead we create a hell. Other people become ways of satisfying our needs as objects to service us, bring us food, run our business, and give us pleasure.

Gluttony (Temperance) is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.  The world is full of good and beautiful things that we are free to enjoy. It is possible to become so caught up in a single pleasure, whether food or fun, that we can no longer enjoy other things, and would be willing to sacrifice other pleasures for the one.

There can be a healthy and natural enjoyment of time spent with friends and acquaintances, but some of us just can't get enough and we begin to use people. Far worse is when a parent demands too much from a child, requiring too much time or too many accomplishments from someone too small to grant so many pleasures. Even pets get excessive attention at times, but they don't seem to mind as much. We can become so involved in the pleasure of dating or marriage relationship that we exclude other relationships and activities.

Greed (Charity) is the desire for material wealth or gain. Earthly goods can simply become things used to achieve, wield and display personal power. Things can be used to intimidate or bribe others, reinforce one's own illusions about what is important or to build up a feeling of success. The real problem here is more the desire for power than the actual greed.

Sloth (Diligence) is the avoidance of physical, spiritual, or any other beneficial work. It’s often more than just laziness. Many people stay busy most of the time but don't do the things they should, putting them off for later. Busyness is often used as an excuse to cover slothfulness.

Wrath or Anger (Kindness) is manifested in the individual who spurns love for fury. Anger is not necessarily wrong if it is directed at correcting something that is truly wrong. In actuality, our anger over situations is not due as much to the situations' actual morality, but because they conflict with our own opinions about what is good or right.  Even though we may feel terrible later, we enjoy the power of anger while we are giving ourselves to it. We get an adrenaline rush and forget all the bad things about ourselves.

Envy (Love) is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situations. Dante groups envy with anger and pride as the sins of "Perverted Love." Envy is perverted because it "loves" what other people possess, rather than what is Good, Beautiful and True. It is often portrayed as "eating away" the heart of the envious person.

Pride (Humility) is excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the goodness and contributions of others. Pride, often the essence of self-delusion, is like a paper-thin mask over our perceived ugliness or deficiencies. We pretend to be lovely but are in reality denying the truth about who and what we really are.

It's interesting that all these deadly sins have a selfish characteristic. We focus our thoughts on “what we want”, “what we've done,” “what we feel,” or “what offends us.” It's very easy to think again and again on these negative, selfish issues. There can even be a sense of lust and gluttony in this. This negative rumination is the single, biggest barrier to personal peace.

We should stop thinking all these negative things. It's possible, you know!

Think about it!



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