Is Vanity a mortal sin

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David98

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Hello,

Could you tell me if getting things done like teeth whitening, self tanning, wearing nice clothes, women wearing makeup, etc is mortal sin?

I cant tell if vanity is mortal or not. Is it bad to try and look good? Thank you!
 
Vanity can be a mortal sin, for instance if I decided to spend all of my paycheck at Sephora leaving my children without food, and I knew good and well that they would go hungry yet did it anyway.
 
If vanity becomes narcissism at any level, resulting in a failure to love and honor God, and a disregard of the feelings and needs of others, or used to seduce anyone into harm, it becomes sinful to whatever degree.

Making the best of your appearance and at the same time, being mindful of dressing modestly, can be respectful of the gifts God has given, (checking whether there’s arisk of damaging tooth enamel by whitening teeth with some products might be an idea perhaps)

Thinking that wearing nice clothes and some cosmetics may be a mortal sin is a little concerning though. If one dressed to deliberately seduce others to serious sin might be, but simply dressing nicely and modestly is fine, so long as it doesn’t become obsessive to the serious detriment of other people’s spiritual or physical well-being.
God bless you in all thing good.
 
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There is nothing wrong with wearing nice clothes and looking good, in fact it is taking care of our bodies (temples of the Holy Spirit). Exercise and healthy eating are also part of this.

When it becomes bad is if it makes you prideful or arrogant or if it becomes so much a focus either financially or time-wise that you are unable to do good works
 
Vanity of vanities everything is vanity. But yeah, I could see vanity falling under the sun if pride not sure of the circumstances that would make it mortal but I think it could be possible.
 
Modern Catholic Dictionary:

VANITY. Or vainglory, an inordinate desire to manifest one’s own excellence. It differs from pride, which is the uncontrolled desire for self-esteem, in that vanity primarily seeks to show others what a person has or has achieved. A vain person looks for praise from others and may go to great lengths to obtain it. More commonly, vanity is associated with an exaggerated importance attached to multiple details, especially external appearances, which in no way contain the value attributed to them. It is ostentation in fashion, wealth, or power regarded as an occasion of empty pride. Thus where pride, though sinful, may have some foundation in fact for whatever one prides oneself on being or having done, vanity is the idle effort to obtain recognition or respect for what a person does not have a rightful claim to. Vanity is attributed to shams, which lack substance and are deceitful (like human praise); or to things without solidity and permanence (such as physical beauty); or to means that fail in their purpose (such as vaunting one’s own reputation). It is an inflated pride and, as such, is venially sinful.
 
Why is the fact if it is grave, (mortal) or venial an issue at all. It is a sin. You don’t think venial sin is ok do you?
 
It helps to know in order to make a good confession and discerning if one can partake in the Eucharist.
 
Does it? Maybe one should not be vain…

Man I’m pretty sure this thread is about me. Isn’t it isn’t it?
 
What you mentioned are not mortal sins of vanity. I believe vanity becomes dangerous when it inflates on the ego. When it comes to wanting to present yourself looking clean, well-taken care of, it’s fine.

Vanity comes in when some people make their physical features the main part of their identity, as in they’re better because they’re beautiful. Also when it becomes an obsession psychologically. I watched the show Botched a few times, seeing the lengths people go to makes parts of their bodies larger or smaller so they could be this ideal image. In no way do I judge them as people, but it can be shocking to see the damage plastic surgery has on people.

To summarize, I believe vanity becomes mortal when the individual, of course, idolizes their own looks and think they can’t live without being “perfect” to the world. It goes hand-in-hand with pride and greed in my opinion. these vices intertwine a lot with each other. I hope this gives an idea.
 
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The question should not be “is it a mortal sin”, rather it should be “is it a sin”. It’s not like we don’t care about venial sins and just commit them without worrying.

Grooming, nice clothes and makeup are not explicitly forbidden by any commandments, so as with every other behavior, you look at whether your behavior is reasonable in view of all circumstances, such as your motivations for “getting things done”, whether you can afford the time and money you’re spending on “getting things done”, and whether anything you’re doing may be bad for your healh (self-tanning for example can cause skin cancer).
 
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