The Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins as set forth in literature as pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth, were made famous by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem “The Divine Comedy”. Surely they are not the exhaustive list of sins, it is just the gist. We have it established through the various prophets and Books from God that all that is unrighteousness is sin, but then there is the listing which is unforgivable by the Almighty.

“There are six things the LORD despises, seven that are despicable to Him: arrogant eyes, a false tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that conceives wicked ploys, feet that rush into evil, bearing witness to falsehood and accusations and he who stirs up discord amongst brothers”. Yes, God has indicated the unpardonable sins. I am not here to go on about it in the context you already are well versed in. That will just make it a drag.

Dante in his poem listed the 7 deadly sins to keep the people from his era [1300s] in line with the right and away from the wrong. Clever man he was.

Many people are still righteous on the grounds of the unpardonable sins, even though the temptations and opportunities are far more approachable now, but now there are more “deadly” sins to avoid. Which we hardly do. Surprise yourself as you read along.

1. Waiting for happiness

For some oddity or malfunctioning thought, people believe that acquiring things is happiness. When they have a job, they are happy; once they are successful, they are happy; they buy a car, a house, build a pool, they are happy; they have a good bank account, they are happy; they know that their retirement is secured, they are happy. Really? And if their wait is endless to get what they want, they are unhappy.

Do we not need to just be happy in the first place to send positive vibes to get there where we want to be? How can a negative body language lead to any success in life in the first place?

There’s an excellent text by Crystal Boyd from her book “Happiness is a Journey.” It has a reminder for all its readers and that is "do not wait to be happy". And she does so in a really profound way that everyone can relate to. I recommend you read the text when you can, because I did and I am shining bright now. You can do so here.

The key to avoid this sin is to remember, that happiness is no door which will unlock and the longer you wait for it to open, the lesser the time you'll have to be grateful and to be really happy, because you actually are, you are just too much into self-pity that is all.

2. Achieving success alone

Seen people using others as stepping stones to their progress and then disposing them like a packet of sour chips?

Being successful is not really all individual. Obviously for selfish reasons we want to credit ourselves only but even while we are alone, we are working with somebody. I tell myself that if I have to go forth, I have to take my teammates along. Victory will not be any good if I see my best mates on the ground floor and myself on the top. Looking down upon anyone is sin. Who gives you that right? Just because you stepped on them and progressed, you think you are all that deserving! Really!

There’s an old saying that reads "the road to success is lonely, but it won’t be when you help others". What Good is a house, if you can't make it a home?

3. Ridiculing others for their dreams

We all think too much of ourselves. We were made from the same mud and clay like the rest of our kind. There is no special ingredient that went into designing me or you. So why does it give me the pleasure to write off someone else's dreams and aspirations and push in mine! We are all the same. We want almost all the same. It is unpardonable to crush the hopes and dreams of others, just so you can reach it yourself. God has never given you the right to demean.

4. Self-satisfaction

It’s one thing to be satisfied with what you have, but it’s another story when you’ve completely settled. Not wanting anything, saying that you will give in to your desires because you have had enough of it. I have seen and known people who are so self satisfied that they give up prayers. They think that if they pray they have to ask for something and they don’t need anything so why pray. It is a sin to think you have it all. Really. We are constantly dependent on that entity. Even if you choose to be indifferent, you very well know that what you have can be taken away from you. To keep it even you need to ask, you need to want.

5. Not questioning

Never question God. You don’t have the right to do it. No matter how big the mess in your life is, it is not bigger than God and hence you have not been given the right to ask Him to answer you. It really doesn't work that way. But the greatest thing we can do for ourself is to question our own living, our own life as much as we can.

I always ask questions like:

- Why me? Where did I go wrong?

- Why not me? What do I lack? Where do I lag?

- Do I really love what I’m doing? Is it really what I want? Should I?

As humans we are not fed in with answers. It takes time to have what we are looking for. But the thought process should keep happening. Unless we don't question ourselves, we will not be able to overcome the lag.

6. Live without change

Who says you have to be something big to cause change? Why always go to the literal meaning of the word 'world', you can change your world whenever you want. It is not as hard as it seems. Your community, your neighborhood is the world you move in, if you are able to bring about a good change, it really will spread out eventually. But you have to start small to make it big. Simple acts can create drastic change.

7. Fearing

The whole point of the original seven deadly sins was to instill fear in people. But living in fear isn’t living. If I am fearful of the cars outside and because of that I stop stepping out, is that really worth a life?

We are humans. It is human to err and though we should be fearful of the consequences we still can acknowledge that the sin was committed and we repent. The Almighty is the most forgiving and merciful, He just wants us to ask for forgiveness with a pure heart and He loves to forgive.

There are many every day sins we commit. We give up hope. We commit suicide, slander, ridicule; we just don’t stop nowhere. Do you have any sins you’d like to confess? Obviously your confession, your business, but when you share you let others know what they are doing wrong too. Are you or were you guilty of any of these sins?