Todd E. Outcalt - The Seven Deadly Virtues: Temptations in Our Pursuit of Goodness

Two rabbis were debating virtues. One rabbi asked, And what is a virtue? The other answered, A virtue is timeless and unchanging. But the first rabbi said, I must tell you story.

There was a beautiful bird that lived its entire life inside a luxurious cage. One day another bird flew into the cage when the master of the house had inadvertently left the cage door open. The second bird said to the first, Why dont you fly away with me to freedom?

But the beautiful bird answered, I know nothing of the freedom of which you speak. Each day I receive meals from my masters hand. My domicile is cleaned. I am secure and happy. Life is good. And whenever I see my reflection in the mirror, I sing.

But you are a prisoner, said the second bird.

I think not, said the beautiful bird. How can one be a prisoner while enjoying all of this?

At that word the second bird flew away to freedom while the beautiful bird remained happy and singing in its cage, unsuspecting of its true condition.

IN CLASSIC CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY THE CHURCH has long taught and preached against the seven deadly sins, which are traditionally defined as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Theologians have addressed these sins from many angles, whole books have been written about them, and most pastors have addressed them at one time or another. In fact, these sins are so prominent, so well pronounced, that it is difficult to miss them. These sins can eat away at our relationships, our work, our homes, and our interior (or spiritual) lives.

But these same truths also hold up when we examine our virtues, which may be described for our purposes here as those values and loves that we cherish dearly and that we often believe are shaping our faith and our futures.

As St. John Chrysostom once noted centuries ago, our virtues are as problematic as our sins. Its just that our virtues are far more cleverly disguised and have a tendency to embolden us with the sin of pride, which is difficult to identify in the life of faith. The Christian faith has always contained these tensions. While virtues are often regarded as the goal of faith (to be better people, to be holy) these virtues can also erode our faith in God if we are not careful. Our virtues can become our pride and joythose great achievements we have obtained, those accomplishments that set us apart from sinful masses who have not yet ascended to the pinnacle of faith. We can even cherish these virtues over God (which is idolatry). Often, our virtues are what land us in trouble. Our virtues can even be in opposition to the gospel.

No doubt some will be troubled by this assertion. (We often want to protect our virtues and hold them up to the light as truth.) Others may dismiss the idea of deadly virtues.

Regardless, I hope readers of good faith will at least undertake this adventure of exploring Christianity from the vantage point of virtues rather than sins. Instead of observing the Christian life from the underside, we may find equally troubling difficulties from the topside. We may also discover that the Christian faith, as often presented and cherished, has the potential to hide a multitude of deadly virtues. We may discover that some of our most cherished assumptions about faith are being destroyed by our virtues rather than our sins.