The Seven Deadly Sins are being taken too literally
Another hot take from me? So soon? Apparently so!
The Seven Deadly Sins are extremely misunderstood, particularly in American “Christianity”. Though, with how bastardized it’s become, American “Christianity” doesn’t resemble Christianity at all- but that’s a topic for another time. Let me explain how I see the deadly sins, as also according to some more historical contexts.
Pride: Taking pride in your accomplishments and knowing your value, worth, and skills is not a sin. Hell, all that shit is healthy! There’s such a thing as being too humble. What is bad is an excess of pride- being cocky, thinking others are lesser than you, thinking you’re better than everyone else.
Greed: Wanting nice things for yourself isn’t bad! Spoil yourself a little, treat yourself. What the sin of greed is supposed to be is basically “infinite growth”, never being content with what you have. A desire for more and more profit and/or power, no matter how much you already have. Think capitalism, landlords, lobbyists, ect.
Wrath: Getting righteously angry with someone who hurt you is not a sin, nor is being angry at an evil person. Anger, like all emotions, has a purpose. Anger is the part of you that cares, the part that wants to protect you and the people you care about. Wrath is something different. Wrath is causing needless harm because you can, wrath is taking advantage of the power you have over someone weaker than you, wrath is bigotry, wrath is animal abuse, or abuse from family, or a partner, or even a bully.
Envy: Feeling envious is perfectly natural! Especially if you’re not doing too well, yourself. However, it’s what you do with those feelings that matter. Taking it out on someone that’s doing better than you is not the way to go, neither is trying to take the thing you’re envious about away (that is, unless we’re talking about the greedy people from the Greed section above).
Lust: Sexual attraction and libido isn’t sinful, it’s completely natural for most people! And if you don’t have it, that’s okay, too! However, the sin of Lust isn’t even necessarily sexual! It ties in a little with greed, with lust for: sexuality, love, money, and/or power. Think perverts, rapists, incels, abusive people that desire to control others, dictators, big companies like Google, Walmart and Amazon, ect.
Gluttony: Gluttony is supposed to mean is hoarding wealth while others are poor and suffer because of it, indulging in feasts while people go hungry. Think billionares, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Hoarding more wealth than you could ever possibly spend in a lifetime, buying “luxury” items just because you can afford it, like a third yacht, while people are poor. Think “let them eat cake”. Think McMansions that are unreasonably big and could in fact house multiple families, but only belongs to one person, when people are homeless. That’s what gluttony is.
Sloth: Sloth is a tricky one! Because there is truly no such thing as “laziness”, but that’s not all the sloth is. Sloth’s meaning actually doesn’t have much to do with so-called “laziness”, but more-so abandoning one’s responsibilities and not caring about it, and/or being selfish. It’s in humanity’s nature to care for others, and Sloth is the opposite, only caring for one’s self. Anyone with the “I’ve got mine, screw yours” attitude is exhibiting this sin. Many people with mental disabilities or illnesses, whether diagnosed are undiagnosed, are accused of being “lazy”, but they’re not. Actually, oftentimes, those people are trying much harder than normal people, and have many more roadblocks they have to face in order to be successful. To those people, myself included, it’s not your fault.
As you can see, society’s view on the Seven Deadly Sins has become extremely warped over the centuries, especially in modern American culture. The Seven Deadly Sins aren’t outdated, just misinterpreted and twisted into things they don’t actually mean. I think it’d be a good idea to bring the true meaning of these sins back, because oftentimes the true sinful behavior isn’t being viewed as sinful.
Now, I may have grown up catholic, but I’m agnostic. Take my words with a grain of salt, look into it yourself. Ask yourself what is truly harmful and sinful, and what behavior has only been painted that way by the people that are actually harmful/sinful.
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