As Lent, a special time of self-examination and thought about how we live, has just ended, I've decided to make us think about the Seven Deadly Sins If you were to act out all of the seven deadly sins, what specific things would you do for each of them? 1. Pride - Humility is the virtue to which pride is the vice. It was this sin, we're told, which transformed Lucifer, an anointed cherub of God, into Satan, the devil, the father of lies, the one for whom Hell itself was created. We're warned to guard our hearts against pride lest we too fall into the same condemnation as the devil. It was the sin of pride which first led Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis we read, "Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." And who do you think was that serpent of old who first introduced Eve to this sin of pride? It was none other than the devil himself, eager to share his condemnation with others. This is probably the sin that I find most tempting. I'm conflicted by the dichotomy of being taught to "be proud of oneself" and committing the sin of pride. It's a fine line... So, my specific action of choice to commit the sin of pride would be to make my pursuit of learning all about me, myself and I. The focus would be upon myself and my own personal glory. 2. Envy The virtue to which envy is a sin against is love. "Love is patient, love is kind." Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times. I'd commit the sin of envy by wanting to have the apparent "easy life" of someone else I know. 3. Wrath/Anger Anger is the sin against kindness. Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this. This is probably the easiest one for me to come up with a specific act to commit. I'm not a violent person, but I'd clean the clock of my "ex". (Yes, I know it's unhealthy to hold in such thoughts!) 4. Sloth Zeal is the virtue to which sloth is the sin. To put it simply, sloth is the desire for ease. To commit this sin, I'd sit by lazily and let others do everything for me. 5. Greed Greed is the sin against the virtue of generosity. It's more than being generous with money; it's giving without expectations of return or praise. This is a particularly easy sin to commit in such a pampered and consumerisitic society. I'd buy, fall subject to conspicuous consumption without regard to others. 6.Gluttony Gluttony is the sin against temperance. It is the desire to consume more than one needs. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others. When something is good, is pleasurable, it is so easy to want more and more and more. So, to commit this sin, I'd sit around and drink all the bottles of Argyle Pinot Noir that I could. I think some greed would come into play here too! 7. Lust Lust is the sin against the virtue of self control. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control. Forget what I said about Pride being the most tempting sin to me! I can't even write in here what I'd want to do to commit this sin! I'm getting myself into trouble just thinking about it. So I'll stop now. As I just watched "The Chronicles Of Narnia" with my son, and we've both read the books, I found this article on Narnia and The Seven Deadly Sins to be interesting. I not only love books, but adore the "story behind the story."