I vaguely recall learning about the Seven Deadly Sins in my senior year of high school when we read Canterbury Tales. I decided then that my inclinations were a toss-up between pride and gluttony. I was reminded of the Seven Deadly Sins again a while back, and realized without a doubt that mine was pride.
And then I realized that I wasn't even sure what the other ones were. Can you remember before reading the list below?
Dante, who I've never read. Should I?
The seven deadly sins (also known as capital sins, CCC 1866) are:
Pride
Avarice/Greed
Envy
Wrath/Anger
Lust
Gluttony
Sloth/Acedia
Because misery loves company, I was a bit relieved to find out that I'm not alone in my tendency towards pride. According to a Jesuit study, women's most common sin is pride. Men's biggest sin is lust. I find these both very interesting. Here are the full lists:
Women:
1. Pride
2. Envy
3. Anger
4. Lust
5. Gluttony
6. Greed
7. Sloth
Men:
1. Lust
2. Gluttony
3. Sloth
4. Anger
5. Pride
6. Envy
7. Greed
And just for kicks, here's a map of how those sins pan out in the United States. Of course we shouldn't take that too seriously, but I will note with satisfaction how "saintly" the Midwest is!
On a more serious side, this website was really great in going through everything about the Seven Deadly Sins, and I learned a lot. For example, did you know that they never actually appear as a list in the Bible? My favorite comment on the site was the following:
If one or more of these doesn't seem like a big sin to you, it almost certainly means you have already rationalized it. Work on that one first.
The best thing I learned about the Seven Deadly Sins is that there are opposing virtues that correspond to each one of them! How great is it that you can ask not only to have these sins removed, but have something better replace them!
Vice ~ Virtue
Pride ~ Humility
Avarice/Greed ~ Charity/Generosity
Envy ~ Kindness/Love
Wrath/Anger ~ Patience/Kindness
Lust ~ Chastity/Self-control
Gluttony ~ Temperance
Sloth/Acedia ~ Zeal/Diligence
I shared with you that my biggest sin is pride, and I have devoted myself to fostering humility this year. It's your turn to 'fess up: which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you most drawn to?
References:
http://whitestonejournal.com/index.php/seven-deadly-sins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins