Seven Deadly Choices

There is no master I can fight with my hands, no captor to slay with a blade. How will I live free? Will I die a slave?

There is a slavery of choice. The accompanying death of this slavery is a choice based on fears that grow in the heart. That is where this imprisonment exists, in the heart. The imprisonment is sin.

Gluttony is but one of many sins. In Western culture, we identify seven such sins. Greed is among them. All relate to selfishness. A renowned evangelist was once offered the opportunity to send a telegram to the entire world, but the stipulation of the generous giver was that the message be only one word. The evangelist chose "others" as his word. The degree to which we sin is our own measure of selfishness, or our own measurement of thoughtlessness to others.

Would a woman leave her marriage for the arms of another man if she were putting the needs of all others before her own? How could an angry youth commit merciless killings of students, if he were compassionate? Would unrepentant greed at the top of Corporate America even exist if the CEO's of the world did not constantly think to themselves "I run this company, I deserve more than everyone else, and I have the power to give it to myself and my friends."

To what end do you act selfishly? Are you a "me first" driver on the freeways, cutting people off, finding ways to bend driving rules? Do you evaluate your gift-giving and holiday cards based upon what you were given last year? Do you believe your marriage is 50-50, and your spouse isn't doing their half, so why should you do anything extra? Are there things you do in secret or alone which if done in the presence of someone else, would hurt them? Do you help friends or relatives with the expectation that they will "return the favor?"

Selfishness grows like a weed, looks like a weed, and ruins what's around it like a weed.