The Seven Deadly Sins – A Self-examination

One little three-letter word put JESUS on the cross. That word is SIN – yours and mine.

Nothing good comes from sin, it’s as damaging to the sinner as it is to the victim. Most grievous of all is the damage sin does to our relationship with the Godhead. Sin dishonors our Father, spurns the blood of CHRIST and grieves the Holy Spirit.

Over time Christian leaders have developed a list called The Seven Deadly Sin – pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, and sloth. Although the term Seven Deadly Sins isn’t in your Bible, plenty of scripture warnings against acting out these sins are available.

Believers in CHRIST are redeemed from the judgement of sin by the blood of CHRIST but are still tempted to sin and do sin. To pretend otherwise, the Bible says, is to fool ourselves, live a lie and call GOD a liar. 1 John 1:8-10

We must ask ourselves some hard questions, if we’re serious about living in true fellowship with our Father. Be honest. Most of us can admit to struggling with one or more of these – pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins – a self-examination

Which sin am I most tempted by?

Defining our sin –

• Pride: inordinate self-esteem: conceit – an excessive view of one's self without regard for others; a tendency to boastfulness.
• Lust: intense or unbridled sexual desire: lasciviousness; intense longing: craving.
• Greed: a selfish and excessive pursuit of more of something (material goods, money) than is needed.
• Gluttony: excessive and ongoing eating of food or drink.
• Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with the desire to have the same advantage; an intense desire to have what someone else possesses.
• Anger: a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism; rage.
• Sloth: an excessive laziness or the failure to act and utilize one’s talents; indolence.

What does the Bible say about our sin?

• Prideful boasting is unwise unless the one “who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me...” Jeremiah 9:23-24; GOD hates pride; pride destroys and leads to failure; pride is not loving; GOD honors humility over pride.  Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 16:18, Romans 12:16, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Galatians 6:3 and James 4:6-7 Humility is the cure for pride – a servant’s attitude is a benefit to the Kingdom of GOD.
• Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. 2 Timothy 2:22; make a covenant with your eyes against lust; to gaze at the opposite sex with lust is adultery; think pure thoughts; lust is war against your very souls; lust is ungodly. Job 31:1, Matthew 5:28, Philippians 4:8, James 1:14-15, 1 Peter 2:11 and 1 John 2:16 We must have self-control over our lustful desires and divest that energy into good works.
• “Let your conduct be without covetousness (greed); be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5; don’t covet what others have; give and don’t be stingy; greed is a lack of faith in GOD; the love of money breeds discontent and evil. Exodus 20:17, Proverbs 11:24, Proverbs 28:25, Ecclesiastes 5:10, Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 6:9-10 A charitable spirit is the cure for greed – we desire to help others rather than to store up treasure for ourselves.
• “…whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31; gluttony is a form of idolatry – we make our stomachs our god; focus less on worldly pleasures; over-indulgence in food and drink can lead to poverty of health and resources; gluttony destroys GOD’s sacred temple – our bodies . Psalm 78:17-19, Philippians 3:19-20, Proverbs 23:1-3, Proverbs 23:19-21, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Practice moderation – a healthy body make us better able to serve others physically.
• A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30; envy kills the soul and warps our judgement; envy is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic; envy breeds disorder and evil. Job 5:2, Psalm 37:1, Proverbs 24:19-20, Ecclesiastes 4:4, Galatians 5:26, James 3:14-16 A contented heart is the cure for envy. Replace a desire for getting more with a desire to give more. We put other people’s needs above our own.
• Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20; anger is the emotion of fools but it’s wise to be patient; anger invites evil and opens the door to the devil to have control over our lives; an angry person makes a bad friend and destroys relationships. Ephesians 4:26-27, Proverbs 29:11, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Colossians 3:8, Psalm 37:2-9, Proverbs 14:29 Patience is the cure to anger. We do the most good in the Kingdom and make better impressions if we listen with patience and understanding and are slow to get angry.
• Sloth will cast a deep sleep; and the soul of sloth shall hunger. Proverbs 19:15; slothfulness breeds lack and poverty; the lazy person does not give GOD his best – we work for the LORD; “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 24:33-34, Romans 12:11-13, Colossians 3:23, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 GOD wants us to be zealous about His work by placing the interest of others above a life of ease and relaxation.

 How do I begin to make things right with GOD?

There’s but one starting point for changing sinful behavior.

To be continued…

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our Holy and Righteous Father, YOU are our Creator and our GOD and holiness and righteousness are YOUR standards, so our sin is always against YOU. We thank YOU for being faithful in YOUR forgiveness and for the blood of CHRIST JESUS that redeemed us from judgement. May we seek YOUR face continually as we hide YOUR WORD in our hearts, the light to our righteousness. Strengthen us, Father, to lay aside every sin. We pray and ask all things in JESUS NAME. Amen.

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile