The Seven Deadly Sins

Many behaviors that were considered sinful are now accepted as the new normal. Take for instance the seven deadly sins; when was the last time you even heard that phrase? I couldn’t remember most of them, so I had to look them up. The seven deadly sins are: anger, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

All seven of these are so commonplace now that we don’t even consider them deadly. I can pretty much go through the whole list in one evening, while watching TV. When I watch the evening news, I get angry at how screwed-up everything is. The commercials induce greed. I sit slothfully in front of the TV, gluttonously stuffing myself with all my favorite snacks, prideful that I’m better than those reality show characters, while at the same time lusting after their shoes. I envy those who have fabulous kitchens overlooking beautiful views. They should just call these the seven daily sins. Or maybe they aren’t really even sins, but just bad habits. Come to think of it, who is to say they are bad habits? Maybe they are just ways to distract myself and relax at the end of the day. Yesss, that’sss it…

This is how Evil seduces us. We gradually slide further away from God and just call it normal. Like an old married couple, we grow apart. We do our own thing. Our relationship becomes just a façade. We recede into being Christians in name only. Anything that separates us from God is deadly. The further we move away from God, the more we become influenced by darkness. We fall into the deep trap of temptation. We shrink into cold indifference.

When I was a child, we used to play the ‘hot or cold game.’ Someone would tell me when I was getting closer to what I was looking for by yelling, “You are getting warmer.” When I was going in the wrong direction, they would say, “You’re getting colder.” As we seek to get closer to the light and warmth of God, may the Holy Spirit guide us in the right direction.