ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Sin. A fascinating subject evoking images of wicked pleasures and eternal danger. Sin holds a fascination even for non-religious people. Everyone wants to know if there is an official list of the worst sins a person can commit.
Actually, there is such a list. Some call them the capital sins, some call them the seven deadly sins. They are pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. They get a lot of bad press in religious circles.
The more I learn about them, the more I think they aren’t sins at all, not in themselves.
Considered as vital life forces within each human being, they are necessary for healthy living. In ancient Greek mythology, these and other forces were given the names of gods and goddesses. Those who ignored them did so at their peril.
Just think of people with absolutely no PRIDE at all. They have no self-esteem. They think of themselves as worthless. Easily dominated by others, they become doormats, accepting victimhood as their due.
What of those whose pride is excessive or out of control? They look down on others with disdain. They might be racists or bigots. They never stoop to forgive anyone who gets in their way. They are individualists in the worst sense of that word. They are not just me-first, but me-only persons. Like Zeus, or Hera.
What happens when pride is safely under control? These are persons of true humility, with a sense of self-respect that enables them to acknowledge and celebrate and share their gifts. They take good care of themselves, their belongings, their earth, because they know their worth. In turn, they find it in their hearts to treat others with the same pride they hold for themselves.
People without a drop of COVETOUSNESS have no energy to care for things, or to protect and cherish their belongings. They abandon their possessions as soon as it becomes even a little difficult to tend to them.
Covetousness out of control leads people to want everything they see. They go to sales and grab everything in sight. They gamble compulsively, greedily expecting to win big, feeling like losers when they don’t. They pine after every latest fad in fashion and gadgetry. They are the ultimate consumers.
Under control of temperance, covetousness produces careful stewards who use resources wisely to purchase according to needs, rather than according to wants. They know the worth of things and cherish everything around them.
People without the life force of LUST become insensitive, indifferent, immature, unable to enter meaningful relationships with anyone. They are people with no fire inside. Suppressed lust destroys the life spirit. The ancient Greeks would have seen this as a failure to worship Eros, and they would pay for it sooner or later.
Out of control, lust leads to using the attraction of sex to abuse others, maybe even children. Ungoverned lust leads to rape and brutality, to using sex merely for fun until it becomes meaningless and frustrating, driving people through a series of unsatisfying and unfulfilling matings which leave them even more lonely than before. The ancient Greeks would say these people worship Eros but forget all the other deities.
Under the control of moderation, the energy in lust empowers a person to enter the lives of others in mutual and tender and passionate love for life.
Without ANGER people are listless, lukewarm, uncaring and indifferent to the cause of justice. They just don’t care. Anger suppressed or kept inside will eat the heart away.
Vicious hatred and murder grow out of ungoverned anger. Such anger makes the batter rush the pitcher after a brush-back pitch, and the hockey player lose his temper and slash out with his stick at his opponent’s head. Anger causes war, gang violence, and untempered vengeance.
Righteous anger, tempered by justice, leads to work for what is right with strength and a daring determination not to give up in the face of opposition. The ancient Greeks would point out that such people worship Ares the right way. Christians, on the other hand, canonize the daring zealot who rights great wrongs.
Without the life force of GLUTTONY people become anorexic, ill for lack of appetite. They see food and drink as their enemies.
Out of reasonable control, gluttony results in abuse of food, drink, or drugs, and all the concomitant evils. The ancient Greeks would see this as an exorbitant attention to Bacchus to the detriment of service to all the other gods.
Under control, the force of gluttony allows people to enjoy food and drink, to laugh and dance and sing with freedom and happiness of heart. They do not worry over every ounce of fat they might be putting on.
Without the energy that ENVY can furnish, people are not inspired to rise beyond their own limitations. Lacking such initiative, they are bored with life, become cynical, downhearted, and spread unhappiness.
The life force of envy out of control leads to robbery of materials, reputation, and spiritual gifts. Envy beyond bounds drives people to do anything to get even with or ahead of everyone else.
Under proper control, envy builds self-esteem, and the ability to see a good example and perhaps even to emulate it.
People with absolutely no SLOTH in their personal makeup become workaholics, people with such demented force that they become unrelenting and intolerant bosses over themselves and others.
Out of control, sloth leads to the inertia characterized by couch potatoes, physically, mentally and spiritually too lazy to get out their recliners. Or they might be welfare bums, abusing the system because they refuse to use the energy it takes to work for a living.
The life force of sloth under control lets a person wisely put off to tomorrow what should be put off — and to sleep, trusting that God cares for the world. Properly regulated sloth lets people play and rest and read, and smell some flowers along the way.
The ancient Greeks would point out that those who fail to attend to all the gods and goddesses would never be happy. To serve only one god at the expense of others is the height of stupidity.
Seen in this light, these seven forces are not at all sinful in themselves. When they are totally absent or out of control, or when they are suppressed, denied, or renounced, they can be terribly dangerous. Regulated by temperance, prudence, courage, and justice, they can and do lead to wholesome, balanced, wholistic, healthy, and holy lives.
As nature intended.