Pope Gregory The Great: The Seven Deadly Sins

How many times have you contemplated your purpose? Whether it be in life, in school, or in the universe as a whole. Human beings roam this planet in search of their meaning in life. They go on wild soul-searching adventures, take time off to rediscover themselves, or try to make a change in the world in hopes of finding their lives purpose. In chapter six of Daniel H. Pinks non-fiction book; “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” Pink discusses how people who do something in the service of some greater objective can achieve more in life than those who don't.

What are we here for? We are here to gain prestige and achieve as much as we can to prove to others and ourselves that we are fulfilling our potential.

It's a fundamental belief of mine that each one of us is brought upon this world with a major definite purpose in life. Everyone has a unique destiny for contributing to this world using their unique blend of talents and passions. I have no doubt that most people today work hard and stay busy with daily activities. The problem I've noticed is that many people live their lives without any sense of meaningful purpose that gives their lives passion and significance. They get caught up in the daily mechanical routines of life and they become creatures of habit rather than purpose-driven beings. Finding and shaping your major definite purpose is perhaps the most important thing that you will ever do in your life because your purpose is the driving force that spawns all the achievements that you will ever accomplish and it provides that unlimited source of motivation that drives you to achieve all the goals that you set for yourself and enables you to live life to the fullest.

In sum, life is supposed to be about more than happiness. We are supposed to do something important, adhere to some ethic, and serve a greater good. We live for a goal, a principle, or a destiny—not just for pleasure.1

The cardinal sins are “sins that characterize fallen humanity,” according to orthodox Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church in particular (ReligionFacts). While the Bible does include lists of sins, none of these lists align with the traditional “deadly” sins known today; the list of seven cardinal sins were actually created in the fourth century by a monk named Evagrius Ponticus (ReligionFacts). After several revisions, a list of cardinal sins fell into more popular use when poet Dante Alighieri used them in The Divine Comedy (ReligionFacts). According to modern interpretations of the list, the seven sins are as follows:

Like I stated earlier, I believe that to create what we want or to do what benefits us is our purpose in life. If everyone carried themselves with this motivation you would see a world full of happy and different minds. Since everyone thinks differently I think it’s safe to say that everyone has something that they love to do or something that makes them feel fantastic and with everyone living for themselves you’re going to have a happier society. Even though, this statement is true, I also believe that with everyone living for themselves we slowly dehumanize ourselves. Yes, I believe that humans should live for themselves, but i also believe that our sense of obligation to help and please others is what makes us human. As humans we care about each other naturally and as great and fun living for yourself sounds, not caring about someone else’s welfare slowly dehumanizes and takes some of the good character traits we humans have

of achieving our purpose in life can be a daunting but awarding task. Christopher McCandless

Born circa 1020 in Sovana, Tuscany, Pope Gregory VII is one of the great reforming popes, and is best known for his part in the Investiture Controversy, which was his dispute with with Henry IV that reinforced the primacy of papal authority. He excommunicated Henry three times because Henry was getting out of hand and the political struggles between the Catholic Church and his empire. Although, Gregory was also despised during his reign by some for his expansive use of papal powers, this caused his memory to be remembered on numerous occasions in later generations, both good and bad, which was often reflected in writings of the Catholic Church. Gregory was accused of necromancy, torture, attempted assassinations, unjust excommunication,

God has a unique purpose for each and every one of us. Sometimes life gets so busy that we forget what our purpose is in life, but God has a way of guiding

In “The 7 Deadly Sins Explained by Real News Stories” by Andy Simmons, “The Fisherman and His Wife” by the Grimm brothers, and “Phaethon” told by Edith Hamilton, they all have examples/traits of a sin that ends up affecting them in a negative way.

Various individuals have different reasons as to why they exist and what they are supposed to fulfil. The Christian worldview of the meaning and purpose of life is to build and maintain a steady relationship with God. Christians believe in getting salvation as it is the key factor that links them with God. Every person has a different purpose in this world, but the common one is exemplifying and worshiping the Lord (Weider and Gutierrez, 2011).

Once one determines their purpose, one may achieve fulfilment through living a righteous life. Specifically, by determining ways to benefit and contributing society. Socrates touches on how righteous attributes are beneficial to not only to yourself but to the community as well. “Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively.” (Plato, n.d.). One may live a fulfilling life through mission work and focusing on the needs of the people around them.

I believe that human being’s all have an underlining purpose in life and it is within their nature to realize their potential and fulfill their goals. Human beings are driven to seek wholeness in their lives and that will always be a continuing journey for most humans. Humans adapt to life’s changes as they encounter various challenges. How one handles those various situations; will directly affect their behavior and personality. I believe humans are capable of dictating the outcome of their destiny.

The Bible classifies the seven deadly sins – greed, envy, sloth, wrath, gluttony, pride and lust – as the characteristics of people which will lead to unhappiness. One particular sin evident in our world today is greed. Greed is defined as an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods. The greed that exists in our world leads people to unhappy and selfish lives. Greed is evident through individual people, corporate companies and in our governments.

In The Deadliest Of Sins Robertson Davies, the seven deadly sins are briefly talked about but his main focus is directed towards the sin, Sloth. He talks about the sins in a speech to fellow Queen’s University graduates and is explaining to them what sloth, or as he refers to it throughout the speech, Acedia, does to the mind and why it was considered a sin. I will summarize Davies points as well as add in my own opinion to the subject.