Deadly Sins Part Two
One
Anger
Anger is a God-given emotion meant to prompt us to achieve something difficult or arduous, correct some evil, or endure something we can’t change without giving up.
Anger is meant to be constructive. It’s meant to give us the energy to correct an evil or end an injustice.
However, anger becomes intemperate when it’s inappropriate for the circumstances, that is, the anger is too long or too intense, or seeks to hurt others, get revenge, protect our egos, or show our importance and power. Such anger is not constructive, it is not directed towards a good.
Two
Greed
Greed is a big one for people and they usually don’t even realize it.
Everybody says, “Oh, I don’t care about money. I have no desire to be rich.”
Okay, fine. But are you constantly anxious about money? Do the things you want to buy and the payments you have to make loom large in your mind? Have you irresponsibly spent yourself into a financial disaster? Or are you in a very safe monetary situation but you complain and fret about every expense, even to the point of failing to be open to more children, or open to greater generosity toward the poor and the Church? Are Christmas and birthdays and anniversaries dominated by shopping and the expectation of presents? Do you complain about your stuff, your material stuff all the time, or your kids’ loans or your home renovations or your car repairs?
If you’re making too big a deal out of money or any of the things money can buy, then you should really pray and work for a greater detachment from the material things of the world. Because even though having possessions is good, it’s well known that our possessions can easily get out of control and gain possession of us if we’re not careful.
Three
Gluttony
Intemperance in the areas of food and drink is called gluttony.
Regarding food, the question isn’t just how much a person eats (although that’s part of it). There can also be sins that arise from being extremely picky, or attached to a certain kind of food. Many people make those around them miserable by refusing to eat anything other than exactly what they want. As C.S. Lewis points out, every time a person is grumpy, impatient, uncharitable, or self-concerned because of their stomach, it’s a case of gluttony.
Drunkenness
The vice connected with alcohol is called drunkenness. In drunkenness (and also recreational drug use), we take our awesome nature, a masterpiece of creation, and we contort and twist it into something ugly. Drunkenness and drug abuse directly throw the intellect, will, and emotions all out of joint. We take the noble, dignified child of God and turn him into a creature that is low, unintelligent, and out of control. It’s a direct self-debasement, and unquestionably hinders our capacity and even our drive for the basic human goods.
Four
Lust
The form of intemperance which is generally of most interest to people is intemperance with regard to sexuality. Of course, sexuality, like all other human goods, is appropriate to and fulfilling of the human condition. It’s fitting to desire physical union with the beloved and to experience an accompanying pleasure when that desire is fulfilled.
Lust, however, is the vice which simply uses the other person for sexual gratification. Lust is when you reduce the other person to simply their sexual dimension, disregarding her genuine good and happiness in order to get what you want.
The sexual act is supposed to be an act where you give yourself physically to the other person in a complete way. Right? You give your whole body, nothing held back, and even offer your genetic information in the procreative material. It’s like your body’s saying, “Here, here’s everything I am and everything I have to offer. Let’s put it together with everything you are, and see what happens.” Now if that takes place on the physical level, it stands to reason it should take place on the personal level too. And giving yourself completely as possible on the personal level to another human being is what we mean by marriage.
The Catechism, quoting Familiaris Consortio, puts it magnificently:
Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility.
Five
Love is to Give a Full Gift of Oneself
So the complete physical gift of sexuality should be given within the context of the complete personal gift of marriage, and any time the sexual act is reduced to less than this it’s a failure to give enough. Got that? The only reason the Church speaks out against certain sexual sins is because they fail to give enough. See for yourself:
Fornication removes sexuality from the marriage commitment. It’s a refusal to give everything personally, and so it’s not giving enough.
You can’t give yourself completely to one person if you’re off giving yourself to someone else. That’s why adultery and polygamy are wrong, because you’re off squandering on one person what you promised to give to someone else. Not giving enough.
Pornography and masturbation are about as obviously selfish as you can get. There’s no real giving at all, since there’s no one else even present.
Contraception is where you say, “Sorry, I’m not going to give you my procreative potential tonight.” That’s a withholding, a refusal to give, and so clearly goes against the generosity of self (i.e., love) that sex is supposed to be all about.
Homosexuality is actually a failure to give in two ways. First of all, a gift isn’t meaningful if the other person already has it. It’s not a good gift if I say, “Guess what? I’m going to give you some very important information. Ready? Here it is: two plus two equals two. You’re welcome.” You’d say, “Um, I already had that information.” But the same thing happens with homosexuality, since part of the gift you should be giving is the richness of your status as male and female – and it’s not a good gift if the other person already has that richness. Secondly, a gift isn’t meaningful if the other person can’t receive it. It’s no good to give a gift of colored crayons to a blind person, and it’s no good for one man to give the gift of his procreative potential to another man – in both cases the recipient doesn’t have what it takes to receive the gift. So for both these reasons – a lack of complementarity and an inherent sterility – homosexual acts involve a failure to give enough.