The Seven Deadly Sins

"pride, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth"

These "deadly sins", like virtually all sins, are precipitated by our animal instincts (which the Creator gave us for good reason). It is no more in our power to not have pride, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, avarice and sloth than it is for my dog Jake. However, if we let our selfish nature rule our lives, we will ultimately harm others and ourselves. This is what God does not allow and why He designates them to be "sins".

Only death will remove these selfish instincts from us and perhaps only Hell will cleanse the harm they have done. However, theology aside, it is probably important for us to understand the role our biology (natural man) plays in Biblical "sin". Without an understanding of this, we will likely join history in thrashing ourselves and others for that which we have no control over.

BTW. Is "chowing down" still "gluttony" if there is no one going hungry? I don't think so. In fact, I believe the test for bad behavior (sin) is not in the strict definition of a word but in the effect our behavior will have upon ourselves and our neighbors.