Gluttony

Greed is the most obvious thing we think of when we look at this sin/attribute. The ‘need’, the desire to have more than is necessary. Today, it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. Capitalism, consumerism and materialism can all be traced back to this simple attribute. The only difference now is that it’s widespread and therefore accepted. We ‘need’ a new phone every year. We ‘need’ a new car every three years. We ‘need’ new clothes every month.

The trouble with gluttony is that it’s a drain on resources and our resourcefulness. It’s only when we can’t get what we want that we start to utilise them more effectively.

When it comes to personal progress and success, the need to get more money so we can buy a better lifestyle gets in the way of the more important things. We stop getting to know those around us who might actually be able to help us achieve what we want. The probably with that is, it requires a form of selflessness and, well, gluttony is selfish. It can’t allow anyone else to take a cut in what it believes is rightfully its own.

Its almost like an unquenchable thirst or never ending hunger. No matter how much you think it’s satisfied, it always wants more. Whatever you have. Whatever you’ve given it, it’s not enough. You then start making irrational choices. Taking out multiple credit cards and loans. Hiring supercars so you can feel rich and hope to impress the ladies (that’s a thing now). Or gamble what little money you have on the dream of getting back a hundred-fold more so you can live out an unrealistic lifestyle.

The trouble with gluttony is just that. It’s idealism magnified but with all the rationality, maturity and wisdom removed. It’s a child who acts like a king but hasn’t earned his throne then demands the treasury pay for banquets, dances and royal visits when there’s a war on.

Lust

I think this can be characterised by the hyper-sexualisation of today. More people starring in film and television are unrealistically attractive; Music videos and porn are almost the same thing ; and the race for physical ‘perfection’ is becoming more common whether it’s through cosmetic surgery or hitting the gym to get that ‘lush booty’ or a big set of ‘guns’.

The point is, we are becoming more and more obsessed about becoming desirable and being desired. People ‘must’ look, sound, act and smell attractive at all times. Why? My thoughts are that, with an ever increasing and aging population, there are more people becoming more insecure about not mating. Maybe because they think they don’t have much else to offer besides being attractive so they work on it more so they can get a good wife/husband who fills in their blanks.

I see it at the gym and around the city. What passes for women’s gym wear/running gear is verging close on exhibitionism. I see girls on the treadmill all dolled up seeing how many guys are checking them out or hoping that ‘one guy’ has spotted them.

There’s then, of course, the damsel in distress. The woman who ‘needs’ a big, strong man to lift something for her or remove some of the weights from a machine so she can do her next exercise. She might try and get him to show her how to do some movements so she can look at those big, strong arms and imagine how safe she’d feel all wrapped up in them. Or…how wanted she’d feel when those arms pin her to the wall so she can be kissed passionately.

The men aren’t much better. Okay, most guys don’t wear terribly skimpy outfits, but they do over-exaggerate their movements. The gym may be a place to get some cardio or weights done for some people but for others, it’s a place to get yourself laid.

The issue with lust is it brings out a lot of insecurities in some. Too many feelings of worthlessness that drive them further to becoming something they’re not which, in turn, makes them less happy, less confident and, therefore, less desirable.

The flipside of lust is that you can be too desirable, and you can be too generous with it. Your ego is getting regular boosts from prospective mates who all want to wine and dine you or be wined and dined by you. You’re all too aware of how much you’re wanted so you start to play games. I’ve seen some women setting men off against each other just for the satisfaction of knowing that she’s so wanted that several men are directly competing against each other for the right to date her. It’s a fairly disturbing thing to watch from the outset. Seemingly rational, reasonable men who might even be friends getting up to all manner of deception and betrayal just so they can have the privilege of planting their seed in a female they all value so highly. Imagine if David Attenborough did a documentary on modern human mating rituals? It may uncover a number of things about us we wouldn’t want to see.

So, my experience of lust is that it can drive a person to madness or depression. You can lose your humanity and be overwhelmed by the base animal instinct that simply wants to fuck or be fucked and all context is thrown out the window if the desire is strong enough. For me, lust is driving the current trend of narcissistic behaviour.

Sloth

Or just plain laziness. Sloth will kill your productivity thus killing your chances of ever moving in the direction you want in life. We can also call this procrastination which is a bit more than being lazy because you’re actively, consciously avoiding the very thing you need to do and doing something that may well be useful but, ultimately, isn’t important right now. If you’re an aspiring writer, the goal is to write as often as you can. Ideally, every day. Same goes for any aspiration. Do something every day. But, if you’re spending more time washing dishes, playing games, watching Youtube videos and chatting to friends in real life or on social media then you’re either not that bothered about that writing career or you’re too lazy to the put the work in.

The thing with sloth is that I believe it’s symptomatic of a person’s unwillingness to step up to the challenge.

What challenge?

The challenge of improving themselves. For many, it’s far easier to create an amazing avatar in a video game than it is to level themselves up and create an amazing life. They’d rather speak hypothetically to their friends about what they ‘could’ have rather than doing something about it and getting it.

Sloth is passive. Sloth is a time sink. Sloth will take you by the neck and slowly wring out any want and desire you have for bettering yourself.

If you’re noticing yourself being consumed by this then find a way to give yourself a kick up the rear and get going because you’re on this planet once so, make it count.