Off and on I've been exploring a somewhat different question--What is the power behind the seven deadly sins; not as in one-offs but as part of your life?
I'm not such a staring fool as to believe that ignorance is the root of all sin, and that with education we could all be righteous. On the contrary, one of the turning points in my becoming a Christian was discovering a hunger for destruction for the sake of destruction. I see enough evidence around me to suggest that this is a universal trait.
But something needs to feed a vice. Glutton is a vice, and presumably so would gnawing gravel if people were apt to do that. That's my question: What makes people apt to the one and not to the other?
Some of the vices (lust, gluttony) are fueled by pleasure. Got it. What's the pleasure in envy? In some ways that's like gnawing gravel!
I gather that Maslow's pyramid puts morality in the top of the hierarchy of needs, but I think this need to be moral permeates the rest.
I wrote a few years ago that sex wasn't just a pleasure, but could mimic a number of the gifts of the Spirit--make us seem holier than we are.
One plausible candidate to fuel envy is a love of justice, although very restricted in scope. "I'm as good as he (and in some senses that is true!), so why does he have the money or the respect or Jesse's girl and I don't?" It ain't fair. Twisted love of justice could power wrath too.
Gluttony and sloth seem related in a focus on comfort, but I'm not seeing any obvious nobler fuels than pleasure--though sloth might also be related to cowardice or despair. And gluttony in the form of eating too daintily can tie in with pride, too.
Greed: we want recognition for our contributions. (Or maybe we're afraid, or there's a hunger in the soul that we can't fill no matter how much stuff we pile in there, but we persevere. Perseverance can be a good thing, can't it?)
Pride: I'm made in the image of God; I'm a co-creator; I'm big stuff. I'm not saying I'm the center of the universe, but wherever I go, there I am. It really is hard to get past that, isn't it?
What else can we look at? Despair, acedia, cowardice... Maybe acedia is what's left when all the power of virtues drain away.
Warwick Allison meant it as a joke, but
| Then | Now |
| Pride | Self Esteem |
| Anger | Assertiveness |
| Envy | Appreciation |
| Greed | Enterprise |
| Lust | Libido |
| Gluttony | Appetite |
| Sloth | Stress Management |
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