Seven Deadly Sins

[VeritasLuxMea]

With regards to the “Seven Deadly Sins,” how does this work exactly?

Take sloth for example. Surely we have all had a day where we just sat around and did nothing. Is that a sin? For example, if my wife and I go on vacation from work for a week and decide to sit on the beach all day… is that a sin? Or is it really more a matter of repeated behavior over a longer course of time?

Or how about gluttony? We all have instances where we “indulge.” Perhaps it is our birthday, and we decide to have two pieces of cake. Is that a sin? Or again, is it more a matter of repeating the behavior?

I wonder how one differentiates between occasions in general. It would seem “there is a time” for everything.

Sometimes we fast, other times we feast. Sometimes we work, others we rest.

I would assume that some kind of normal variations are acceptable?

 

[Aeden]

The seven deadly sins are sins of excess. Basically, they are sins if.they get in the way of your well-being, physical or spiritual. e.g. eating cake isn’t a sin, eating a whole is probably gluttenous. Taking pride in your accomplishments is good, becoming arrogant as abresult isn’t. I hope that this helps.

 

[MidnightSun12]

I don’t believe that Sloth and Gluttony are normally mortal sins in and of themselves (with the exception of becoming intoxicated, which is a grave matter).

That said, these two sins still deserve a lot of attention, because Sloth and Gluttony can very easily lead to other much more serious sins.

For example, if we allow ourselves to consume food excessively and not put any value on restricting the desires of our flesh when it comes to what we eat, then this can very easily translate into increased temptation in the areas of sexual sins (which are much more serious). In short, if someone can’t control their apetite, their ability to control the more powerful sexual temptations becomes vastly more cumbersome.

Sloth is a similar situation. I don’t think anybody would argue that sitting on your couch is seriously sinful, but it has been said by the Saints that when a person is kept busy he/she only has one demon to fight against. However, when this person becomes idle, that one demon turns into an army of demons. Just think about how easy it is for your mind to wander into dangerous territory when you are just sitting around day-dreaming, or how easy it is to get sucked in to a bad TV program if you’re sitting on the couch all day.

Sloth and gluttony may not normally be serious sins by themselves, but they definitely deserve a lot more attention then they get in today’s society.

 

[kbwall]

The seven deadly sins are sins of excess.

What about lust and wrath? Jesus made it pretty clear that even just a little bit of either qualifies as sin.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Sloth is a similar situation. I don’t think anybody would argue that sitting on your couch is seriously sinful, but it has been said by the Saints that when a person is kept busy he/she only has one demon to fight against. However, when this person becomes idle, that one demon turns into an army of demons. Just think about how easy it is for your mind to wander into dangerous territory when you are just sitting around day-dreaming, or how easy it is to get sucked in to a bad TV program if you’re sitting on the couch all day.

OK, but are there not times when resting is appropriate?

Similarly with “feasting”?

 

[Lochias]

As far as I understand things, the seven deadly sins are deadly insofar as they have the ability to draw you and your attentions away from God and His love.

Sitting around on a day off and doing absolutely jack would likely not be a sin of Sloth; but excessive surfing of the 'net at work instead of doing your job might be, because you are willfully neglecting your love of neighbor in not doing the job your co-workers and customers need you to do.

The occasional over-indulgence might not be a mortal sin, in and of itself, but repeatedly gorging and harming your body can not only result in a lack of care for the body that God lovingly gave you (and thus a lack of care for God’s love for you), but can also burn through your groceries and hinder your monetary capabilities when you have to buy more, making you a poor steward of God’s gifts (and therefore displaying a lack of care for God’s love).

I hope this makes sense; when we view life through the lens of God’s mercy and love for us in all aspects, it is much easier to see how these sins can escalate into something truly dangerous. As we grow in our faith and learn to better listen to God’s voice, we are also given a heightened conscience by the promptings of the Holy Spirit that tells us when things are good and when they are not good.

Just my two cents.

 

[sw85]

With regards to the “Seven Deadly Sins,” how does this work exactly?

Take sloth for example. Surely we have all had a day where we just sat around and did nothing. Is that a sin? For example, if my wife and I go on vacation from work for a week and decide to sit on the beach all day… is that a sin? Or is it really more a matter of repeated behavior over a longer course of time?

Or how about gluttony? We all have instances where we “indulge.” Perhaps it is our birthday, and we decide to have two pieces of cake. Is that a sin? Or again, is it more a matter of repeating the behavior?

I wonder how one differentiates between occasions in general. It would seem “there is a time” for everything.

Sometimes we fast, other times we feast. Sometimes we work, others we rest.

I would assume that some kind of normal variations are acceptable?

They should be that of less as sins (i.e., concrete, disordered actions) and more as anti-virtues. “Prudence” (a cardinal virtue) isn’t an action, it’s a disposition that guides action toward the good. Likewise with gluttony, lust, sloth, etc., except that they guide action in a disordered fashion.

 

[Non_sum_dignus]

I think the seven capital sins are usually defined more by a lifestyle than a discreet event. Resting on a beach for a day doesn’t imply that you’re spending the rest of your time lying about and ignoring your responsibilities. Going overboard on the pie one night doesn’t mean that you’ve dedicated yourself to sensual pleasures to the exclusion of God.

The nature of sin is rejection of God. Rejection of God tends to be habitual. Taking pride in one’s latest woodworking creation may not be a sin at all, if a proper perspective is taken. Rejecting dogmatic and moral teaching from the Church because one’s pride doesn’t allow for such rules is certainly sinful.

 

[MidnightSun12]

OK, but are there not times when resting is appropriate?

Similarly with “feasting”?

I just think that we should strive to train ourselves to be idle for shorter periods of time and train ourselves to consume less when we “feast”. Even if we’re just consuming a little less then what our flesh is telling us it wants to eat, this practice of self-denial is very beneficial to one’s soul (which is something that is very much lost in our society today). We just have to look at the lives of some of the Saints to see just how vital self-denial is to one’s personal holiness. We have to remember that God is not calling us to be “pretty good”, He is calling us to be “perfect”… that means we have to work on the little things as well as the big stuff!