Deadly Sin

The extreme importance of humility in the life of a Christ follower is illustrated by the extreme danger of pride, the nemesis of humble living. At an early stage in the life of the church it was necessary for church leadership to identify the seriousness of various moral faults. This ultimately gave rise to what is called the seven deadly sins. These are root sins. They represent the basic fleshly instincts which give rise to other sins. They are: pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth.

St.Jerome was a Christian priest known for translating the Vulgate, an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin. He wrote: "There are venial sins and there are mortal sins. It is one thing to owe ten thousand talents, another to owe but a farthing. We shall have to give an accounting for an idle word no less than for adultery. But to be made to blush and to be tortured are not the same thing; not the same thing to grow red in the face and to be in agony for a long time. . . . If we entreat for lesser sins we are granted pardon, but for greater sins, it is difficult to obtain our request. There is a great difference between one sin and another" (Against Jovinian 2:30 [A.D. 393]).

My definition of “deadly sin” is: An extremely dangerous sin because it takes root in the heart and mind and is the enemy of godliness. It is a sin which, by its subtle and seemingly innocent nature, slowly and without notice suspends spiritual growth, spoils the spiritual fruit, and sucks the spiritual life out of the believer. It is a spark that leads to an uncontrollable fire. From it springs a multitude of sinful actions.

In The Parsons Tale of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales the parson explains, “the root of these seven sins is pride, which is the general root of all evils; . . . And though it be true that no man can absolutely tell the number of the twigs and of the evil branches that spring from pride, yet will I show forth an number of them, as you shall understand. There are disobedience, boasting, hypocrisy, scorn, arrogance, impudence, swelling of the heart, insolence, elation, impatience, strife, contumacy, presumption, irreverence, obstinacy, vainglory and many another twig that I cannot declare.”

Pride has been called “omnium peccatorium mater” which means “the mother of all sins.” It’s end is to be feared and it’s beginning must be greeted with the same. The antidote, humility, must be swallowed quickly and then a healthy portion of it smeared on head and chest until all symptoms of pride are erased. Our prayer should be, “Lord if I have not the moral strength to choose and to be humble, destroy the pride in me and keep me humble by Thy great power. Amen.”