LUXURY
Sin: I think we can all benefit from thinking about sin, even if we don't believe in a supreme being, even if we don't accept notions of divine punishment, of heaven and hell. The concept of sin is usually thought to be a religious concept, the deliberate violation of the will of God. I want to think of sin without religious references, with regard to a broader definition. I want to examine sin in the sense of personal failure, of the harm we can do to ourselves. In this sense, sin will still include violation of rules but not necessarily rules imposed by religion. I want to examine sin as violation of rules of good conduct, violation of rules which are designed to make our lives better. Of course sin will often include harm to others but I urge that the harm we do to others by our conduct is usually exceeded by the harm we do to ourselves.
I recently revisited some books about the seven deadly sins, especially Henry Fairlie's The Seven Deadly Sins Today. We all know the seven deadly sins: If not religious, we know the popular songs or pop groups referring to the deadly sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, avarice, luxury, envy, appetite, anger and sloth. The list of seven deadly sins is a good list of things to avoid if we want to be happier and lead better lives. We don't need to be religious to see the value in not hurting ourselves and others. So I've decided occasionally to write about these sins and also, in contrast, about the classic virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, justice, faith, hope and love.
Luxury in modern usage is comfort, pleasure, material rewards beyond the necessities. In the context of the seven deadly sins, however, luxury means lust. Luxury is the self-centered pursuit of physical pleasure without concern for others. Luxury is the opposite of love because love concerns itself with others, with acceptance and understanding of the object of love. Luxury requires no understanding, no knowledge, only self-gratification.
It is evident that the sin of luxury abounds in the modern world. We're probably all guilty of it at one time or another. Television, movies, magazines encourage it. And many argue that there is nothing wrong with it. Many urge that we accept our lust, that, while love is desirable, it is not necessary. They argue that gratification of lustful desires is natural, normal, expected. And they're right in the same way that other sins are natural. We're imperfect, we must struggle against sin, we must constantly seek to improve ourselves, we must control ourselves.
However we feel about the nature of humans, about self-expression, about physical desires, we can at least agree that loving others, caring about others, avoiding hurting others are desirable qualities. And to the extent the sin of luxury defeats these good qualities, is the opposite of concern with others, we can agree that it is to be avoided.
I hope it is clear by now that I never condemn others, that I never blame others and that my only goal is to urge virtue, to recommend ways to improve ourselves. I'm as prone to mistakes as anyone and these columns are as much a reflection of mistakes I've made in my own life as they are forward-looking. But the more I think about these issues, the more I write, the clearer it becomes that our sin hurts us more than others, that caring about others is the ultimate value, the ultimate meaning of life.
Try to avoid the sin of luxury and look for the beauty of love. You'll be happier and you'll make others happier.
9-18-99
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