7 deadly Sins ｜Bible Verse - Getting Closer to God's Voice 1985

By Margaret W. Lavigne 

In Christian tradition, the 7 “deadly sins” refer to pride, jealousy, anger, dejection, avarice, gluttony and lust. Indeed, the 7 deadly sins are heavily linked and chained.

 

#Sloth/Apathy

Apathy means lack of emotion, feeling and enthusiasm for anyone and anything, being totally indifferent to the world.Sin of apathy and indifference roots in the lack of love, lack of love to others or even lack of love to ourselves. Love is to see the wounds and to console those who bear heavy hearts. When a person is being apathetic, he lost interest in everything and unwilling to fight for anything valuable. He is alive but he’s dying inside. Apathy makes a person fail to take good care of himself, mentally and physically.  Chronic apathy makes a person’s life withering because he/she stoping hoping.

 

 

Are we being indifference to others’ suffering and pain? Have you ever outreached to the weak, the suffering or the poor to offer help? Are we too busy with our own affairs to notice those who suffer?

 

Also, apathy has something to do with chronic depression. People who suffer from chronic depression to an extreme are more likely to harbor negative thoughts or even thoughts of suicide.

 

What does the Bible say about apathy? From the Fifth Sunday of Luke (16:19-31), Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazaros. The rich man never talked with Lazaros. It’s like the rich never even saw him sitting right at his front doorstep. In the Parable of the Last Judgment (Mt.25), Jesus tells us that those who do not see and help the poor, hungry and sick, will take “everlasting punishment” (v.46).

 

Mother Theresa wrote: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbor who lives on the roadside assaulted by exploitation, corruption, poverty and disease.” Mother Theresa also asserts “We can do no great things, only little ones with great love.”

 

#Gluttony/Overeating

Regarding gluttony, substance abuse, drug abuse, overeating or emotional eating are included for sure. 

 

God does not expect us to indulge in food pleasure. People who go for binge eating probably suffer from loneliness or a sense of emptiness. Food makes people happy. That’s true but temporary. Overeating means a person fails to perform self-discipline. I feel sorry that I commit binge eating and I have midnight meals whenever I suffer from insomnia.  

 

If we stuff our stomach for  1 to 2 hours persistently with beef or something bountiful,  we might find ourselves physically uncomfortable for the whole night and guilty for the next day or even the whole week. It’s not worth it.   

 

 

#Pride/ Vanity

It refers to excessive pride in one’s abilities. Pride and prejudice god hand in hand.  Too many tragedies root in the wickedness of social prejudice. Prejudice is a universal virus which makes the world miserable. Pride has more to do with committing the sin of clinching sense of superiority by undermining other’s values. Thus, those who are prideful are more likely to make reckless malicious judgments about others. We should never confuse self-confidence with pride. Self-confidence means believing in ones’ ability to achieve something. 

 

Pride is said to be the original and most deadly of the seven sins.  It’s common that we seek public recognization. Those who have strong inner strength would never discriminate against others for their own good.  We not have to be better than others as to stand out from the crowd. The greatest enemy is ourselves, always. 

 

Judge Less Love More

In the Bible, it says “Judge not.” As we judge people, we love them less and we might be wrong. By judging people, we might develop anger or hatred against someone who deserves our respect. We are not all-knowing as God. Only God is given the authority to judge. We should not judge a person negatively by very limited information or assumptions.

 

By being judgmental, we tend to ignore the good qualities of a person. As we judge people, we have no chance to learn them more.  We have chances to misjudge anyone. By misjudging them, we’re doing them injustice.

 

#Anger/ Wrath

Anger exemplifies the exclusion of love and compassion. Anger exhibits violent acute negative energies. Extreme anger can potentially lead a person to insanity, wickedness even crime.

 

Set the deadline for your ager.  If you suffer from anger too long, it means you fail to practice forgiveness. By focusing on what others disappointed us, we fail to comprehend the beauty of the world and we fail to comprehend God’s mercy and ultimately we fail to fulfill our duties on a daily basis. Anger disturbs our self-improvement for days, weeks, or even years. We should never deviate let our life because of others’ faults. It fully explains why “self-discipline” and “forgiveness” are necessary and important.

 

Wrath refers to extreme anger, rage, hatred for anything or anyone, or even the desire for vengeance. There are people who feel the justice system has failed them. When a person is controlled by wrath, he might do harm to themselves by ruining their future. I heard that Satan loves to approach us when we lose our sanity or when we are surrounded by negative emotions. Remember, you are too strong to be offended or damaged. God will be the judge and God will do the justice.

 

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Without full trust, there’s no true intimacy in a relationship. It is a commonplace thing to be a fool in love. That’s what most people do in love relationships. Generally speaking, people can’t be cheated, fooled or betrayed out of foolishness, but out of full trust.

 

In a sense, people “choose to be fools in love” by giving full trust in intimate relationships because they are unwilling to suspect the ones they are in love with.

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# Jealousy/ Vanity 

Too many people suffer because of unfilled desires. Those who are being jealous of others desire what others have, whether material or emotional. Those who are jealous of others grieve over people’s happiness. They can’t happy for others’ blessings and they are more likely to suffer from negative emotions. 

 

Those who are trapped by jealousy are more likely to suffer from anger, resentment and depression. Jealousy is rife with pernicious energy, which stops people from being grateful for what they have in life. Altogether, jealousy roots in voracious desire and greed and it breed vindictive hostile thoughts. 

 

#Lust

Lust differs from love. Lust is essentially physical. Essentially, lust pulls people away from their rationality and responsibility. Lust refers to physical sensual pleasures and corporeal desires. God designs our body for a reason. Inordinate sexual desire keeps a relationship based on sexual pleasure. Further, sexual addition might pave the way to unfaithfulness, cheating, sexual immorality or even an extramarital affair. Aside from these, excessive sexual desire blocks the path to an individual’s personal growth too.

 

Lust refers to an insatiable need for sexual intercourse. If this need is unfed, it might lead to masturbation, rape, and even bestiality. 

 

# Greed/Avarice

Greed refers to the obsessive desire for material gain and riches. Avarice for wealth can be a universal sin in the capitalist society, which is ignored by the mainstream public. A person may resort to deception or manipulation if he/she is controlled by greed. 

 

[1]  “[T]his is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)

 

[2] Sloth is often regarded as mere laziness. But, sloth is more about “apathy.”