Have you ever wondered why the deadly sins are deadly? I have, and I figure that it must be the lack of humanity that is exhibited when a sin is being committed. For example,

• The “owner” of “property” has to keep them in line in order to maintain and maximize profits
• A pension thief or embezzler cannot be concerned with the negative impact the act has on hundreds or maybe thousands of lives
• Revitalization isn’t displacement – it’s progress and enhancement!

The list can go on for a while. These three are just examples of the commission of some of the sins that have not-so-great results for humanity.

In alphabetical order, the sins are: Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath. The virtues that temper these sins are: Gratitude, Temperance, Charity, Chastity, Humility, Diligence, and Patience.

Here’s a very brief description of each.

ENVY is the desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable attribute belonging to someone else. The Virtue GRATITUDE is being thankful and appreciative.

GLUTTONY is excessive consumption, while TEMPERANCE is the quality of moderation or self-restraint.

GREED is an intense and selfish desire for wealth, power, or food. CHARITY tempers this with voluntarily giving of help to those in need.

LUST is a very strong desire for something (usually sex). CHASTITY is the state or practice of refraining from extramarital or all sexual intercourse, but it doesn’t have to be something sexual to refrain from.

PRIDE is the consciousness of one’s own dignity or feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction of one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. HUMILITY, on the other hand, is the modest or low view of one’s own importance.

SLOTH is laziness. Its opposite is DILIGENCE, careful and persistent work or effort.

WRATH is extreme anger. To counteract it, PATIENCE is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Which one (or more) is closest to you? And of all these sins, which do you think is the deadliest, and why? I’ll tell you which one I think it is by making it next week’s topic.