Good to be Bad or Bad to be Good?
21st-century culture’s take on the seven deadly sins
Written by Kylie Hynes, Contributing Writer
Graphic by Ainsley Skomal, Contributing Artist
Sin—it feels dark, dirty and secretive, like the kind of thing you might shove into the deepest corner of your closet to befriend the skeletons there. Few like to talk about it, fewer confess to it and almost no one likes being accused of committing one. The bad news is, whether you like it or not, moral law insists that it exists–and in seven different forms.
The term “sin” was derived from Roman Catholic theologians around the sixth century. The seven deadly sins (or cardinal sins) were defined as, “the seven vices that spur other sins and further immoral behavior” and include pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022). These vices were thought to be dispositions that would push people toward sin and separation from God. However, each could be overcome with the corresponding virtues of humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience and diligence (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022).
While these sins used to constitute a stereotypical separation between the rich and the poor, the socialites and the pariahs, the righteous and the immoral, they’re personified today in far more common ways. Media and culture have shifted that even seeing some of these sins as being wrong has become, well, wrong. While societies of generations past have approached many issues, including those of morality, with a “black and white” mindset, modern-day culture is all about blurring the lines. Gender and sexuality exist on a spectrum, but can the same be said for morality?
With the less restrictive cultural climate we live in today, sins aren’t seen as inherently deadly, and many have taken on a different appearance entirely. These days the seven deadly sins look a little more like this:
Pride
Don’t get me wrong, you should be proud of yourself. As Kris Jenner would assure you, “you’re doing amazing sweetie,” but there is a fine line between self-confidence and thinking you’re better than everyone else. Whether it’s your political views, follower count, race, gender, occupation, religion or otherwise, being prideful in any part of your identity is what has led to much of the hate, violence and arrogance we’ve become all too familiar with in the media. Despite what the world often tells us, no one is better than anyone else because of who they are or what they do (or don’t) have, we’re all different and all have something unique to contribute to society and that is something we can be proud of .
Greed
Wondering what greed incarnate looks like today? Look no further than the fast fashion industry. Shein, Romwe, Boohoo and countless others are raking in millions of dollars at the expense of the environment and of child laborers. Children across the globe are severely underpaid and work in horrendous conditions for corporations who simply don’t care. Why? Because they can.. Name any industry bolstering any significant part of our economy and you’ll find that each is capitalizing on the same thing: our desire for more. If you think it’s the rich white men in suits running the world, look again. What’s pulling their strings? More times than not, it’s the sin of greed.
Lust
We live in a lust-filled world. Rape has become a culture, adultery is the second leading cause of divorce and men and women are used as mediums in advertisements to make you want a product more (Austin, 2013). Pornography projects unrealistic expectations on romantic partners, hook-up culture provides an addiction to variety and social media normalizes DMs as romantic gestures. It’s not hard to see how lust has been trying to steal love’s thunder. What’s worse? Lust isn’t just about sex. Lustful desires can exist as anything, whether it be power, knowledge, money, alcohol, drugs or even blood.
Wrath
Is it just me, or does it feel like every day somebody is offending someone else over the media? Influencers and celebrities beware, one wrong move, whether it be a post, comment, word, action or outfit, and you’re canceled. Forgiveness? Never heard of it. Second chances? We think not. If someone dares to have different political beliefs than our own? They must be uneducated. The scenarios go on and on. Block, unfollow, unsubscribe, delete, repeat. Somewhere in the frenzy of photos, gossip and opinions we’ve forgotten that it’s possible to grow from mistakes. We all think we have a strong sense of what is right and wrong in our heads, but when did our need for a perfect world become more important than loving and understanding the people in it?
Envy
Not to be confused with its lesser form, jealousy, envy is the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another and the desire to possess the same advantage (Merriam Webster, 2021). Simply put, envy is being discontent because you believe others are more content than you with what they have. Our economy is driven by this discontentment. It doesn’t matter if we need it or not, if someone has something, we think we need it too. And so we buy that item or work our way up to where we want to be, rising up the ranks of society and becoming the object of envy for others to pass on the contagious cycle (Austin, 2013). Just because you see influencers raking in millions of dollars for making 15-second TikTok videos or your friends traveling through Europe one gorgeous post at a time, doesn’t mean they’re any more content than you.
Sloth
If you’ve heard the term “sloth” before, you probably think of physical laziness. While laziness is certainly an element of this sin, there’s more to it than that. Sloth today can be defined more so by carelessness, unwillingness to act, half-hearted effort and becoming easily discouraged by possible difficulty (Turner, 2015). Though few of us with busy schedules would believe we’re guilty of slothfulness, we might be surprised how subtly this sin affects us in the form of procrastination, plagiarism and worst of all, apathy. This happens when we put off tasks until it becomes almost impossible to complete them on time or when we take shortcuts to complete these tasks. When we begin to slack and not give in our best effort in whatever life circumstance we’re in, the sin of sloth is to blame.
Gluttony
While gluttony has traditionally been associated with overindulgence in food and drink, it’s made manifest today in the way our society hungers for excess. We live in a culture where most people live in the pursuit of some kind of wealth, material possession, fame or power. Similar to greed, gluttony is the sin all about indulgence and our culture encourages us to do just that. Whether it’s indulging in a little retail therapy, Netflix binge, comfort meal or boozy night out, we’re always looking for a reason to treat ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing problematic about binge-watching a show here or filling up your Amazon cart there, but whoever said “too much of a good thing is a bad thing,” is probably right more times than not. The biggest problem with indulging too often is that finding the will to stop these unhealthy habits is a lot more difficult than finding the will to start them.
Did you notice a theme amongst our modern-day manifestations of the seven deadly sins? One word: technology. As much as I hate to sound like my grandparents by blaming the issues in today’s society on our phones, you have to admit, most of the ways “sin” creeps into our lives are through them. They’ve allowed the internet to achieve world domination by giving social media, television, online shopping and all the vices our heart desires unrestricted access to our minds in a nearly irreversible way.
What I often remind my grandparents after they’ve accused my phone of being evil, is that our society is just as broken now as it ever was. The invention of the internet was not the inception of sin, it merely made it more accessible–and much easier to point out in others.
Sources:
Austin, K. (2013, December 2). The Seven Deadly Sins of Today. Frankly Speaking News.
Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Seven deadly sins. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Envy definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster.
Turner, D. (2015, October 6). More than laziness: The deadly sin of sloth. Vintage Church of New Orleans.