Study of the 7 deadly sins and their meaning according to the bible
Greed is part of the 7 Christian deadly sins, all of them being: anger, gluttony, pride, lust, sloth, avarice, and envy.
Capital sins are those qualities and attitudes that are contrary to the will of God and generate evil in the people who promote them and in the rest. They differ from the rest of the sins because these 7 are the origin of most other sins and for this reason, they are called capital sins.
All Christians should try not to commit any of them, although on many occasions it is difficult given our human imperfection. If you think you have done something, admit your mistake and confess it to the Lord so that he can forgive you.
Each one of them has in its opposition one of the Christian virtues. To avoid carrying out capital sins, it is necessary to work on the virtues.
The 7 Deadly Sins in the Bible
Now, we are going to see each of the 7 deadly sins together with their opposite virtue, so that you are very clear about their differences and do not confuse them.
1. Anger:
Biblical meaning of anger
Anger is the expression of hatred and resentment carried to an extreme where it cannot be controlled. This can be reflected in the form of revenge and harm to others regardless of the consequences.
The virtue that helps contain and avoid anger is patience. Reflecting on the Word of God, praying frequently, and loving others; your patience will grow and over time you will be able to avoid angry situations.
The greatest disasters of humanity have been based on this irrational and uncontrolled anger towards other people and for none of this to happen again, we have to try to turn patience into a common gift.
2. Gluttony
Biblical meaning of gluttony
Gluttony refers to the obsession with food or drink, although sometimes both at the same time. This causes the excessive consumption of food to the point that it can cause health problems.
However, it is not only health that is threatened by gluttony. Christianity is a religion based on humility and, therefore, the moderate consumption of food is also part of the doctrine.
Temperance is considered the opposite virtue of gluttony since it is the ability to contain oneself in the face of the irrational instinct to consume excessive amounts of food.
All this does not mean that Christians cannot eat or enjoy food, but it must be done in moderation and always remembering and being grateful that it is God who brings us bread to the table every day.
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3. Pride
Biblical meaning of pride
Here we come to the most serious and important capital sin of all: pride. This is the quality of believing oneself superior to others for any reason and is totally contrary to Christian philosophy and morality in which humility and love for others should always be sought.
Likewise, humility is the virtue in charge of avoiding pride and it is one of the fundamental pillars of our religion. Jesus was an example of humility and teaches us in the Bible to live like Him.
You should not confuse pride with self-love or self-esteem, since loving oneself is not bad and it is a necessity. The problem appears when this self-love is put before others or, what is worse, before God.
4. Lust
Biblical meaning of lust
Lust is the capital sin that refers to exaggerated sexual desire and totally removed from Christian morality.
For Christians, sexuality is something that transcends beyond the physical body and also involves the spirit and the mind. Making a bad use of it supposes a transgression to our being complete.
The virtue opposed to lust is chastity, which does not mean the elimination of sexual desire, since it is a human characteristic that cannot be eliminated. However, it is necessary that this sexual desire is in accordance with the pillars of Christian love, with respect for the couple, and without exceeding the limits of purity.
5. Laziness
Biblical meaning of laziness
Although it may seem like a lesser evil, laziness or laziness is also considered a cardinal sin, since it is the abandonment of the responsibility of taking charge of one’s existence.
Our life is a gift from God that we should never neglect and laziness often makes us let our guard down. Never stop doing beneficial things for the world because of laziness, because every action has its reward.
Diligence is opposed to laziness, this being the associated virtue. Diligently things are done with the greatest possible love, trying to ensure that everything is carefully well and nothing is missing.
6. Greed
Biblical meaning of greed
We are not going to go into much detail about the biblical meaning of greed, as that is what the rest of the article is about, and in this part, we just want to make clear the differences between the deadly sins.
Greed consists of doing actions that are harmful to others with the intention of obtaining a personal benefit, whether material or not.
You should not confuse it with selfishness, because selfishness is not a sin in itself, but rather an attitude that leads you to commit sins such as greed, pride, or laziness that harm others.
To combat greed, generosity is necessary. Giving without expecting anything in return is a fundamental Christian virtue that we must all exercise with love and care.
7. Envy
Biblical meaning of envy
Finally, it is the turn of envy in all its facets. To envy is to desire that which is foreign to what is lacking, leading people to carry out actions that do not benefit anyone.
Because of envy, friendships, marriages, and labor relations are broken, and; which makes society not evolve with the necessary confidence.
Sometimes envy is confused with moderate ambition and it shouldn’t be. A little ambition in life is necessary to achieve what makes you happy always with the help of God.
The opposite of envy is charity, understood as that virtue that makes you love God above all things and, therefore, loves your neighbor, since we are all children of God.
