In my first blog post, and my first post on the 7 deadly sins I stated,
“I believe that in reality Pride is our greatest sin, and the other 6 in this list is just different manifestations of Pride.”
As I’ve been looking into the topic of Pride it seems that there are several different views concerning the topic. Some discussions claim that there are 2 types of Pride, one that is healthy, and another that is unhealthy. At this point I would like to explain my position, I believe what some call healthy Pride I would call self-esteem, and unhealthy Pride, as the type of Pride that is destructive to the person suffering from it, and those around them.
So let’s begin, starting with with Pride manifested a Lust. Looking back to our list we find that Wikipedia defines lust thus:
Lust (fornication) — Unlawful sexual desire, such as desiring sex with a person outside marriage. (Dante’s definition was “excessive love of others,” and this reduced the love that a person could give God).
Now we see in the above definition that lust is an “unlawful sexual desire”, some of you reading this might say that lust doesn’t break any of the civil laws where you live, and I would have to concur with that, but this definition isn’t considering civil laws, it’s referring to the law of Moses as God gave it to him. If we should look at what the Ten Commandments say we would see that lust breaks the Tenth Commandment specifically;
Exodus 20:17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Of course most people would say that this is a harmless thing, and in the American culture it is a major tool to motivate people to act, and do certain things like purchasing product, or joining a gym for example. Our society is bombarded with marketing ploys using our own lust against us. Again, most people consider this sin as acceptable, and not hurting anyone, but God considers lust as a form of idolatry which if we return to the Ten Commandments we find that it also breaks the First Commandment, and the Second Commandment;
Exodus 20:2-6
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
And if you’re a professing Christian you also break the Third Commandment;
Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Now you may be thinking that this is something that I only do in my mind that lust is not a tangible action, that God is only concerned with our overt actions, but Jesus said;
Matthew 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
So now according to Jesus we’ve broken the Seventh Commandment;
Exodus 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
The reason that Jesus brought this up was to show us that not only is God concerned about what we do, but also how we think. That our thoughts also convict us. So you may think you have everyone fooled, and God will be please with your outward appearance to the world, and your charitable acts, but God is a judge of everything including your thoughts.
Again looking back at our Wikipedia definition Lust is also called as Fornication, which is defined as, “consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other.”, and most would say that this is best described as sex between two unmarried people. So why is this an important distinction? I believe that God wants us to be patient, and wait on Him to introduce us to the person we will spend our lives with, that fornication is committing adultery against the person who we will marry.
Sex outside of marriage is emotionally damaging, and promiscuity is not a badge of honor as some people believe it is, and this is where Pride manifest itself as Lust. It is a reason that abortion is a multi-million dollar business, just as pornography is, why people confuse sex with love, and why the pharmaceutical industry is thriving with sales of antidepressants and anxiety drugs. Lust isn’t harmless. It is though a manifestation of Pride, and pride is a sin and God hates sin, but, God loves sinners and stands ready to forgive every sin through His son Jesus Christ.
In my next post we’ll take a little look at Pride manifested as Gluttony, if you have any questions, or comments feel free to use the contact form on the home page. Thank you for your time. God bless, Pastor Charles Kahn
Just Charlie 