Deadly “Sins”

Pride

A pride of lions, streaking majestically across the savannah to hunt for their young. A father and mother, proud to overflowing of their child’s achievements. A nation of Yankee patriots, proud of the freedoms they have won for generations to come.

Greed

A liberator’s insistence on saving every last hostage; not one less will suffice. A young piano student who refuses to be satisfied with the progress he’s made, having a clear vision of a far grander destiny achievable only through hundreds of hours of practice. A single mother, employed but insufficiently, desperate for every scrap of aid the government will provide to care for her six children.

Lust

A lusty (not lustful) athlete keeps himself physically fit through a carefully regimented diet and exercise program. A newly fitted engagement ring gleams with lustrous promise—the luster of virtue. A couple on their honeymoon consummate their symbolic union in a gesture of complete devotion.

Envy

Holy envy—for the admirable features of religions besides one’s own. A businessman rich in worldly possessions but thoroughly taken with the simple joys in the lives of his employees. An artist inspired by the strokes of brilliance of one of her predecessors—which translate into the strokes of her own brush.

Gluttony

An insatiable appetite for truth and knowledge found in many libraries of books. A comedian who gluts himself on the genuine laughter of children. A half-starving vagrant, only able to overindulge himself in serving others like him with excessive selflessness.

Wrath

Righteous indignance against murderers, and rapists, and terrorists, and other defilers of mankind. A 6^th-grader refusing to tolerate other students bullying his tender-hearted little sister. The swift vengeance of the Lord exacting justice upon the wicked oppressors of His chosen people.

Sloth

The gentle arboreal mammal, carrying itself so steadily that it will remain clinging to a branch even after death. A society so slow to anger, so reluctant to act in violence, to revolt, to rebel, that it becomes almost incapable of serious sin. The optimist who is heavily disinclined to see anything but the best in the present situation, in the future, and most importantly in other people—whose positive outlook changes but with the languor of an ancient oak.