The 7 Deadly Sins
You may not be able to recite all 7 deadly sins, but I’m
sure you’ve at least heard of them once or twice. Regardless of what
denomination you consider yourself to be, Christians typically only talk about
the ten commandments or the 7 deadly sins when it comes to being obedient to
God. I remember a few “fire and brimstone” sermons from my childhood that
discussed damnation to hell. My father
was Catholic and brought me and my siblings to church with him on occasion.
Usually the mass would precede games, food, or some other celebratory event. It
was rare to hear anything about hell or displeasing God, but the 7 deadly sins
were almost a guarantee if the priest was trying to scare you into being
obedient to God.
As a young child it made perfect sense to me. If you believe in God you have to avoid doing 7 things or you will die. However, I didn’t believe in God at the time and didn’t care to learn more about Him or His commandments.
Technically, none of the deadly sins are encompassed in the 10 commandments. You can have extreme anger and not murder. You can have lust and not commit adultery. Gluttony isn’t even mentioned. The only deadly sin that has ties to the 10 commandments would be envy. You would think that the deadly sins would be those that go directly against the commandments given directly by God. Maybe the deadly sins come from the list of things that God detests? After all, the book of Proverbs lists 7 things that God detests right?
7 Things That God Detests:
Proverbs 6:16-19
Instead of teaching a list of deadly sins that have no tie to the Bible shouldn’t we focus on learning what sin is? If we knew what sin is we would be more equipped to refrain from sinning.
“So then, anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it is committing a sin.”
James 4:17
All sin leads to death not just 7. If we don’t know what it means to sin, then we don’t know how to stop sinning. Don’t get wrapped up in the tradition of sin. Educate yourself on what sin truly is.
As a young child it made perfect sense to me. If you believe in God you have to avoid doing 7 things or you will die. However, I didn’t believe in God at the time and didn’t care to learn more about Him or His commandments.
1.
Pride
a.
Deep feelings of pleasure or satisfaction from
one’s own achievements
b.
An inflated sense of self worth
2.
Greed
a.
An intense and selfish desire for something,
especially wealth or power
3.
Lust
a.
Very strong sexual appetite
b.
Passionate or uncontrollable desires or cravings
4.
Envy
a.
The desire to have something that belongs to
someone else
b.
Feeling discontented or resentful over someone
else’s possessions, qualities, luck, etc…
5.
Gluttony
a.
Habitual greed
b.
Excessive eating and drinking
c.
Over indulgence or over consumption (not limited
to food and drink)
6.
Wrath
a.
Extreme anger
7.
Sloth
a.
Reluctance to work or make effort to complete
tasks
b.
Laziness
You’ll notice that several of the 7 deadly sins have
multiple definitions. Listing additional definitions was intentional so that
you can see how each deadly sin has been distorted. Pride, Lust, and Gluttony
have had clear changes in meaning and intent. Pride once referred to any action
that personally took attention from God and placed in on one’s own self. Being
considered prideful is much more difficult than it once was because most people
no longer equate boasting with pride. Lust is similar in the sense that it has
been universally restricted to focus only on a desire for sex when it initially
meant uncontrollable desires and cravings for anything. Now you are free to
lust after anything and everything as long as you can control your sexual
desires. Gluttony was restricted in the same way as Pride and Lust. It wasn’t
always only about food. Getting too much of any one thing would make you a
Glutton for that one thing.
The list of deadly sins has been around in some form or fashion for over 1600 years and was, at one point in time, the standard list of sins for most Christian churches. Although many sins can be applied to one or more of the deadly sins, a full list of all imaginable sins cannot be condensed into just 7 categories. What’s worse is that by teaching only 7 sins, Christians are entering the world with a false idea of what sin truly is. We aren’t told of any such list as this in the Bible. The closest that God gets to giving us such a list is the 10 Commandments or the list of things which God hates/detests.
10 Commandments:
Exodus 20:2-17
"I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything gin heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who uses His name lightly. Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work – not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for Himself. Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. "
The list of deadly sins has been around in some form or fashion for over 1600 years and was, at one point in time, the standard list of sins for most Christian churches. Although many sins can be applied to one or more of the deadly sins, a full list of all imaginable sins cannot be condensed into just 7 categories. What’s worse is that by teaching only 7 sins, Christians are entering the world with a false idea of what sin truly is. We aren’t told of any such list as this in the Bible. The closest that God gets to giving us such a list is the 10 Commandments or the list of things which God hates/detests.
10 Commandments:
Exodus 20:2-17
"I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything gin heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who uses His name lightly. Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work – not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for Himself. Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. "
Technically, none of the deadly sins are encompassed in the 10 commandments. You can have extreme anger and not murder. You can have lust and not commit adultery. Gluttony isn’t even mentioned. The only deadly sin that has ties to the 10 commandments would be envy. You would think that the deadly sins would be those that go directly against the commandments given directly by God. Maybe the deadly sins come from the list of things that God detests? After all, the book of Proverbs lists 7 things that God detests right?
7 Things That God Detests:
Proverbs 6:16-19
"1. A haughty look
2. A lying tongue
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
4. A heart that plots wicked schemes
5. Feet swift in running to do evil
6. A false witness who lies with every breath
7. Him who sows strife among brother"
Although validation of the 10 Commandments can
be seen in this list, there are really no ties to the list of deadly sins. So
where, then, did the list of deadly sins come from? Well, a popular 4th
century Christian monk named Evagrius Ponticus decided to list 8 evil thoughts
that were common place for Christian monks at that time: gluttony,
prostitution, avarice (greed), pride (self-overestimation), sadness (envy),
wrath, boasting, and acedia (lack of caring – depression). The original list
drafted by Evagrius Ponticus was done to encourage, and challenge, his fellow
monks. It was meant to help them; not summarize sin. Unfortunately, Ponticus’
popularity caused the use of the list to spread. It eventually changed to the
current list of deadly sins.Instead of teaching a list of deadly sins that have no tie to the Bible shouldn’t we focus on learning what sin is? If we knew what sin is we would be more equipped to refrain from sinning.
“So then, anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it is committing a sin.”
James 4:17
All sin leads to death not just 7. If we don’t know what it means to sin, then we don’t know how to stop sinning. Don’t get wrapped up in the tradition of sin. Educate yourself on what sin truly is.
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