Mortal Sins

Just recently I’ve watched National Geographic’s features with regards to some of the seven deadly sins which is said to be transgressions fatal to our spiritual progress. The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. Although these deadly sins never occurred as a formal listing in the bible but these sins are found all through it, from Genesis to Revelation. The letters of the New Testament mention all of these, and many others as well. These kinds of sins are considered also as capital sins because they obliterate the morality in the person's heart and thus may lead to final remorse and eternal death. These are said attitudes that shouldn’t be proliferated neither permeated.

For me, this is indeed sins that degenerates the morals we have as logical human beings. And just today feeling a little bit sluggish I took up a quiz on my facebook account about which of the seven deadly sins I posses. Although I couldn’t reflect which of these mortal sins I belong but I must confess I have committed some or maybe all of these sins for 20 years of living. Who wouldn’t? Right? Sinners as can be we can’t find any excuse to be exempted but there is a way to minimize such misdemeanor.

 The funny thing is that I think I identify myself more on pride but my quiz result said that I posses sloth and it says “Sloth comes from the Latin 'socordia', which was originally considered to be the failure to utilise one's talents and gifts. Sloth is associated with the demon Belphegor, thought to sow discord among men and seduce them to evil through the apportionment of wealth. Sloth's corresponding inversion in the Seven Virtues is Diligence, a zealous and careful nature in one's actions to guard against laziness. As one of the Slothful, you have fallen prey to indifference, an allegorical, spiritual laziness and indifference leading to sadness. In Dante Aligheri's ‘Purgatorio’ of ‘The Divine Comedy’, the Slothful are punished on the Fourth Terrace, also known as the fifth level of hell, purged by continually running. Those who were slothful in life can only purge this sin by being zealous in their desire for penance.”

 

 

“Sloth is the desire for ease, even at the expense of doing the known will of God. Whatever we do in life requires effort. Everything we do is to be a means of salvation. The slothful person is unwilling to do what God wants because of the effort it takes to do it. Sloth becomes a sin when it slows down and even brings to a halt the energy we must expend in using the means to salvation.”

Sloth also came from the Latin word Acedia which means "a state of restlessness and inability either to work or to pray". It’s the avoidance of physical or spiritual work. Probably I’ve just poured more time on thinking or doing futile things rather than focusing more on law school & reminding myself of upholding my being a Christian-believer.

The following are said punishments in hell.. 

Sin	Punishment
PRIDE	broken on the wheel
ENVY	put in freezing water
ANGER	dismembered alive
SLOT	thrown in snake pits
GREED	put in cauldrons of boiling oil
GLUTTONY	forced to eat rats, toads & snakes
LUST	smothered in fire & brimstone

           

Ooo..this is really down-right scary! Maybe I should try to be more diligent or be more persistent on just about everything I do. I don’t want to go to the fifth level of hell neither to the fourth nor sixth nor any of it. And I wouldn’t want to be thrown into snake pits as well. I don’t want to be associated with the demon Belphegor either. But to be honest, I think I am now in a state of being a sloth not a slut okay? These are two different things (hehe..) I have come to notice that I have become  more prone to laziness & to quote Mia’s version (my classmate in lawschool) “queen of procrastination”.

          

        

           Indeed I’ve become a fan of lethargic-thinking-species of being unable to perform ones duties in life.  I would certainly do more of the heavenly & cardinal virtues which are humility against pride, kindness against envy, abstinence against gluttony, chastity against lust, patience against anger, liberality against greed, and diligence against sloth. But human as we are, erroneous & imperfect we can’t easily resist such temptations but we can minimize them until such time it’ll be gone gradually.