Worst sin
The seven sins.
Sin…hamartia.
Lust…luxuria.
Gluttony…gula.
Greed…avaritia.
Sloth…acedia.
Wrath…ira.
Envy…invidia.
Pride…hubris.
Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Envy are all very similar, but the minor differences make all the difference. Lust is sexual, Gluttony is consumption, Envy is emotion, and Greed is many things: Wealth and Power included.
Sloth, Wrath, and Pride differ from the other four sins and each other though. Sloth is laziness, Wrath is anger, and Pride is arrogance…vanity.
Now here is a question that differs from person to person. Which one is the worst?
Pride is often said to be the worst, but this is often said by arrogant people who don't even realize that hubris is their flaw. They sometimes do see that they have too much pride and immediately assume that pride is the worst because the other sins don't affect them as much. If you're Christian and you believe that Satan was cast out of heaven because of pride, does that mean it is truly the worst sin? But without our pride…what are we?
Wrath almost never called the worst, unless one is on the other end of a person's wrath. Why is it not the worst though? Simply because people believe in justification. They like to justify their actions. Justify….is just a nice way of saying avenge. Wrath is born from revenge. Or perhaps it is the other way around. In any case, if someone kills child, then when the parents murder the murderer; what is that called? Is it a parent's wrath? Does the fact that the murderer killed their child justify their actions?
Sloth is also not considered worst. Why? Mostly because lazy people stay out of the way. Lazy people also don't consider it a big sin because they're too lazy to think about it! Or at least…it seems that way. Sleep is a necessity and yet too much of it and people call it sloth! Sometimes people are too lazy to save another's life. This is the worst form of the sin sloth. But is it the worst sin of all?
Lust is a sin that all humans possess. Sometimes it leads to happily ever after and sometimes you find yourself in a jail cell for rape. It is a vile sin and yet sometimes lust leads to love. Love does not strike us as a sin and so in most cases concerning lust we don't think of it as the worst sin. But those who have fallen prey to lust may think differently.
Envy eats away at a person's soul. We all covet things, even though in the Ten Commandments there are laws against it. We can not help but be envious of those with better fortune. She's happy and he's happy. Why can't I be happy? Is this envy? Is this the worst sin? The sin of wishing for something that is not ours to take.
Gluttony is another necessity. Eating keeps us alive. Endless consumption of food though leads to an ugly thing. That thing…is oneself. Fatter and fatter you grow but food is necessary! We need it! Sometimes it is so hard to know when to stop. Is it the worst though?
Greed applies to a lot of things. To be greedy is to want something. Lots of somethings. Money is the means to an end. You want something, you buy it. That is why the greedy want it. But money can't buy everything. Power can though. If you are king then you are the absolute ruler and you get anything you want. Is this as bad as it can get?
Which is the worst?
What sin is the greatest of all?
We must decide for ourselves which is the worst. For each person is different, and each person has different amounts of these seven sins.
What do you think is the worst?
The worst sin is...