Thou shall not murder, thou shall not steal, and thou shall honor thy mother and father. These are three of the Ten Commandments which have been given to society from the Bible, and that depict sins against God. There are also the seven deadly sins set by society which include: lust, greed, envy, sloth, wrath, gluttony and pride. These seven deadly sins are not in the bible or sins against God, but in their own ways can be just as deadly with similar consequences. With crime and violence rapidly growing in today’s society, it’s not surprise that wrath could be considered one of the deadliest sins. Wanting to look like someone else, or wanting what others may have may be more than just envy and a deadly sin that we’ve all committed in one point of our lives. With media being an everyday part of our lives and society, sloth or laziness is becoming ever present as well. All these sins have consequences and can be deadly, but here’s why I believe wrath, envy and sloth may be the deadliest of the seven deadly sins.
Wrath “kills out of pure rage”. It is said that the punishment for wrath is that in hell “you will be dismembered alive”. We all feel wrath or anger in some point of our lives, but most of us in society know how to control this deadly sin. Those who cannot control their anger fall into a life of sin. One form of anger that we as Americans have experienced is the anger that is shown to us by Muslim countries because of the making of a video that depicts the Prophet Muhammad. These individuals have taken their anger and turned it into pure violence. This exemplifies exactly how anger can be one of the worst deadly sins of all. It not only affects the lives of the individuals that hold the anger, but also those who the anger is taken out on.
Envy “kills with hatred”. The punishment for envy is believed that in hell you will be “put in freezing water”. As a society, we want what we can’t have. We strive to be the prettiest, richest and most successful. An example of this would be plastic surgery and how it has grown immensely over the past decade. In 2011 alone, there were “13.8 million cosmetic surgeries performed.” There is a problem with how society puts pressure on individuals
to look a certain way or to wear certain brands of clothing to feel prettier or to be more accepted. What our society fails to realize is that these things may not be as great as they appear. Young girls are envious of the bodies of models in magazines and strive to look like them without realizing the amount of photo shopping and editing it takes to make these models look flawless. These girls want so much to look like these models that they’re willing to go as far as to get plastic surgery or some may even develop eating disorders. By participating in this downward spiral of wanting what we cannot have, we will end up dying of pure hatred of ourselves.
Sloth “kills with laziness and isolation”. It is said that the punishment for sloth in hell is that “you will be thrown into pits of snakes”. New technology and media has done two things for us as a society: it has made society work more efficiently, but in turn has made us lazy. Who needs to walk to the television to change the channel when you can use a remote? What kid wants to play outside anymore when they can stay inside and play video games? Who chooses to walk or ride a bike somewhere when they can just take their car? We have become such a lazy society that we’re all almost damned to the snake pits in hell.
The seven deadly sins were created hundreds of years ago, yet they are ever present in modern society. It is human nature to be envious or angry at times, but as a society we have evolved into being lazy. All sins consequences can be deadly but wrath, envy and sloth are the deadliest of them all.
