Seven Deadly Sins

Dear Readers,

While taking some time to ponder about spirit of the law vs the letter of the law, coupled with "sin"'s archery definition of missing the mark, I had some thoughts about the seven deadly sins.

First of all, they are not scripturally listed off as seven deadly sins. The closest that comes is Proverbs 6:16-19

"16: These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18:An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19: A false witness that speaketh lie, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

These are far different than the seven we know: Lust, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Pride. So, where did this doctrine of seven deadly sins come from?

The seven deadly sins are based in Catholic tradition rather than outlined in scriptures. That is not to say that the notion of these sins should be ignored. Even though there is no direct scriptures listing them, they are all sins and have been spoken against in the scriptures. Indeed, I would say that this configuration of sins is indeed inspired because of how well rounded and inclusive it is.

For lust there is "...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28) This sin is the devil's fabrication of love which is wonderful. Indeed, it is no crime to admire the beauty of a daughter of God, it is the objectifying and lust for her that pollutes the experience.

Greed has 1 Timothy 3:3 which advises against being "greedy of filthy lucre". "Lucre" means money gained in a dishonorable way and is not to be confused with simply gaining wealth. Wealth, money and riches can be a good thing: "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good -- to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and afflicted." (Jacob 2:18-19)

"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice..." (Colossians 3:8). Wrath, anger, contention, violence. Many times, these emotions and feelings come from the adversary, for "...the spirit of contention is not of [God], but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." (3 Nephi 11:29). Nevertheless, there is a reason why the human body is able to feel these emotions, and it is not necessarily a result of the fall. For there is the righteous wrath of God in the Old Testament (Psalm 78:31) which is kindled towards wickedness and sin (Numbers 11:33). Even Christ exhibited righteous anger when He cleansed the temple of those polluting it (John 2:15-16), and yet, despite His anger, He never let it control Him, but was always in control of Himself (Jesus the Christ 12: First Clearing of the Temple).

To incorporate gluttony, one might need to look towards more modern scriptures. For example, there is the Word of Wisdom, a commandment relating to taking care of our bodies given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in February of 1833 (Doctrine and Covenants 89). It delves heavily into what types of foods to eat and things not to partake of, especially in excess. Beyond the scriptures of this dispensation (a "dispensation" being the time period when God has called prophets on the earth) there are references to abstaining from strong drinks (Isaiah 28:7) especially in excess (Ephesians 5:18).

There is a warning for those who are slothful. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain." (Proverbs 15:19). That is to say, that if you are slow to do things, like procrastination, then it is like traveling and having to pass through a thorn bush. The thorns may not be thick, for time has run out, but there is pain in scrambling to do things last minute. However, doing things early brings peace of mind and time to prepare for the needful aspects of one's life. I have also noticed from personal experience, that when I haven't done much recently, it can seem daunting and irksome to try to force myself to move and accomplish what is asked of me. Many of you might have noticed similar reactions with trying to roll out of bed in the morning, or do chores after work or school.

Envy causes discord among brethren, "And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt..." (Acts 7:9). For those who do not remember, Joseph was loved of his father Jacob also called Israel, and because of this love, Jacob gave Joseph a fine coat of many colors, more precious and beautiful than anything the other sons had. They were jealous of their brother, coveting his position, and envied the love and affection shown unto him. Wherefore, we are encouraged to "...[lay] aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings" (1 Peter 2:1).

I have written an entire blog post about Pride, and how it is enmity (contention or opposition) between us and God. It is often warned against in the scriptures: Jacob 2:13-14, 1 Timothy 3:6, Proverbs 16:18, Doctrine and Covenants 90:17. Some say that the root of all sin is money, but this is not so. Pride is the root of all sin, and is, ironically, a sin in it of itself. If we lust it is because we place our own desires above those of someone else. Greed is selfishly withholding from those who stand in need and even wanting more. When we are angry unto wrath, we feel as though our need to express our disdain is more than the right of health or even life of someone else. It is the cause of the hole in our souls to be filled with gluttony, and makes us feel like being slothful is our right or privilege. It even causes us to feel like we deserve blessings poured out upon others, leaving envy to unsettle our hearts. An episode of Charmed, where the Halliwell sisters were infected by the sins, portrayed pride as the only sin unable to be overcome by a selfless act, for even in an action with disregard for their own life, the individual is doing it for their own honor and pride rather than for God or righteousness' sake (Charmed Season 3 Episode 18: Sin Francisco).

Again, as the scripture in Proverbs was the closest textually, and having already shown how the sins are at least warned about if not rebuked about in the scriptures, I have contemplated how they fit together.

"A proud look" is easily compared to pride, much as "hands that shed innocent blood" is to wrath. However, the others have been rather difficult to meld together. "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations" I would liken unto lust, in that the heart, and emotions can both be a receptacle of love, but can easily be turned into evil thoughts of lust. Then, what better sows "discord among brethren" than envy? Like covetousness, envy says, "I want what you have" or "I wish I was you because of these reasons", it leads to unhappiness and unfulfillment, always wanting more.

"Swift to running towards mischief" I first thought of sloth, merely because it was the only one that spoke of movement or action, but it clearly does not seem to fit. Greed creates acts of mischief, but many of those who are greedy wait and abide their time to take and keep wealth for themselves. So what is swift to move towards mischief? Gluttony seems to be the key. Gluttony is quick to over indulge, it is swift to partake, it is constant progression towards mischief of the body and spirit, to ease an insatiable appetite, a seeming hole in the soul.

This leaves the scripture with two very similar lines: "a lying tongue" and a "false witness that speaketh a lie". With the only two deadly sins remaining of sloth and greed, it became even more unclear which was most applicable. Alas, I came to the conclusion that "a false witness" involves another party, someone witnessing against another person. Greed often has false witnesses, claiming that treasures are rightfully the sinner's rather than someone else's. While one can be lazy and slothful, only using lies like "I'll do it tomorrow" when tomorrow never comes.

With these scriptures connected, even in a very loose, wrested way, I hope that it brings insight and illumination into these sins so that we all may be able to avoid and remove them from our lives more easily and completely. May we all better ourselves and come closer to Christ that we may return honorable to our Father in Heaven.

Love,
Jacobugoth