As a young man, I remember reading that before there were Seven Deadly Sins, there were Eight.
In addition to the enemies of the soul called Envy, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, and Pride, an eighth was considered an equal danger: Despond. This sin was an outlook of gloom and despair, chronic hopelessness, a sense of "what difference does it make?"
I don't recall exactly what happened back in medieval times to trim the Eight Deadlies to Seven — probably a sense that seven was a more perfect and memorable number. And keeping a sharp eye peeled for known spiritual dangers is an important part of maintaining soul health.
But I was forever struck with the idea that the list of deadly sins is not fixed.
Recently I've been talking with pastors about the Deadly Sins of Ministry. What are the prevailing temptations that are most likely to snare those in Christian ministry?
Certainly the Seven Deadlies apply to those in ministry. But in addition, what others have you seen?
One pastor pointed to "Overfamiliarity with God."
"It's hardly possible to be too close to God," he said, "but it IS possible to become so accustomed to the idea of God that we no longer stand in awe of him. As preachers, our times of worship are easily identified as our work — and devolve into mere duty. Our recreation, much of it, is wrapped up in church activities. We handle the things of God day in and day out. Because of this, we may begin to lose the awe that keeps us in profound respect of the holy and righteous God who will judge his people."
That's one pastor's observation. What's yours?
You might want to check out the issue of Leadership Journal we did on "The Eight Deadly Sins of Ministry."
—Marshall Shelley is executive editor of Leadership and its sister magazine Christian History. To reply to Marshall, write Marshall.Shelley@DenverSeminary.edu
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