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“A look into yourself.”

Most of us are familiar with the seven deadly sins. The cardinal sins that would most definitely banish man to hell. They are pride, lust, greed, sloth, gluttony, envy, and wrath. And at least once in our lives we have come across one of these sins, if not all of the sins. But what I want to know regarding these sins is are they real, or just deeper insights into man. Was there something man knew about ourselves in the past, that is only being magnified in the world today? Because life was quite local in the days of early Christianity. So how did man know so much about us? But human nature is a universal characteristic. How do these sins tell us who we really are in life?

In the case pride, one carries an excessive sense of accomplishment. They are quite boastful in what they have achieved, almost to an intoxicating level. They Related imagenot only have to let others know, but they also have to accumulate tangibles as a means of showing themselves off to the world as well. But, don’t we all have some form of pride? Pride is the satisfaction you get out of winning a race. Pride is the fulfillment you get when you lose weight. And pride is the gratification you get when receiving a gift from someone close to you. So why is pride such a cardinal sin? Because pride is only a problem when it takes over your life. Or, it becomes a sin the moment you have allowed your pride to turn into hubris.

Well, what about lust; lusting is a sin. But how much lust is bad and how much lust is good. See, I lust, but to what degree makes it a sin? Is this lust going to lead down a road that will hurt me in the end? Or is the lust the yearning and wanting I get from seeing a box of chocolates. You see, lust is yet another Related imageambiguous sin that only becomes problematic once it grips you where you can’t shake it loose. Lusting over strawberries is different than lusting over a woman I might see on a job. Because those strawberries will satisfy my hunger pains and keep me until I consume a meal. That women might get me fired if it goes too far.

Next comes greed, which is the need to want something in excess where it leads to selfishness and control. Well is it wrong; once again, it’s all in context. Wanting to make a lot of money to leave for your descendants so they are not thrown into Image result for greedpoverty is greed. Why because you are taking more than you need. Yet, is it really sin if you are trying to protect family. Difficult to say considering money is a tough topic. Anyone that makes a lot of money, yet reworks their portfolio to make more can be seen as greedy. But true greed is taking more than you need for the sake of having. There is no use for it, you just don’t want anyone else to have it.

Then there is envy; which is the longing to have something that someone else possesses. Yet another sin that can be both bad and good. For example, I grew up in a poor household. I often wanted the lives of friends I had went to school with as an adolescent. But in the bible that can be seen as sin. Or is it really a sin? I Image result for envydidn’t wish to be them, just had a desire to have more than barely surviving. And that is the difference between the good envy and bad envy. Sinful envy is you have it, I want it, I’m going to get it if I have to take it from you. There is nothing wrong with seeing someone with something you want and don’t have; it’s human nature. Yet, there are limits to how far you can go before it’s a sin.

So let’s continue on down to sloth. The lazy and the indolent. Those who sit back and want everyone else to do their dirty work without putting in an effort. They let themselves go by the waist side. From their home life to their outer appearance; Related imagenothing is kept together. Then there is the good sloth which is, being tired. You work all day and sometimes don’t want to clean or move. You are not of sin because you have a legitimate reason for not getting up and making a move. But this is what we describe as taking a load off. Resting until you get up to make moves, which is sloth on a low level. Sloth on a high level is trouncing around in filth; almost in comparison to a pig.

Image result for gluttonAnd of course we all know gluttony. The overindulgence in eating, almost to the point it will cause you to develop an ailment. There is a difference between eating to live and eating just to eat. Eating to eat leads to health problems; while eating to live keeps you in line with having good health. And of course from time to time you indulge, yet you never veer off course too much. So as to not be led too far astray where you have hit the point of no return.


And last but not least, wrath, which is that strong wanting to punish someone. That inner hurt you feel that someone else must feel in the moment. Now wrath is tricky because is there ever a time to want to dole out punishment without sin? And the answer is yes. In the case of being a parent, the wrath is often brought down and is justified. Not only in biblical text, but even among non-denominational people. But when you want someone to feel pain because of your Image result for wrath sinown internal struggles, then you become the true face that is wrath. See, in the end, all seven sins not only are of biblical context, but they say something about us all. Interestingly enough, you can’t go through life without having one or more seven sin qualities. But it’s not having these sins, but more so an excessive sin trait that becomes problematic. Because that is the point where you start to lose control. (PERSONAL WEBSITE) (FAN PAGE)   

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“Who are people to make you feel bad?”

I have heard people say things like, “This person or people are always trying to make me feel about something.” But in my opinion, no one can make you feel bad about something that is not already in your head. They are just able to point out the thing that you are trying to hide. And they are able to use that to manipulate and make you feel bad because their own lives are in shambles. But it can’t work unless you allow it to work. So how do people allow it to work? By opening themselves up and being around people who frown on you. What are some ways people frown on you?

One way people can make you feel bad about yourself and frown on you is by having a child too young. Now in my opinion, like I said before, no one can make you feel bad. But they can if you feel any form of regret. And when it comes to having a child too young, then they can see that. You might ask, how so? You are not giving off any indication that you feel bad about having a child young. It’s not what you’re giving off, it’s life. They know that when you reach a certain age you look back and say to yourself, “Man I should have waited.” But that regret puts you in a a strange position. Because you don’t regret your child.

See, in context, not all regret is bad. It’s one thing to say I wish I had of waited and I wish I didn’t have this kid. One is less harsh than the other, but the minute we hear regret it speaks negativity. But the connotation it carries is up to the person who is on the end of the regret. Life is hard, and people know this, so regrets are part of life. And they know you will see this hardship and wish you had of waited. But like I said, if you don’t feel that way it means nothing. Yet, is having a child the only way people try to frown on you and make you feel bad about decisions you make.

No, with staying in line with a child, how about being unwed when you have a kid. Unless you feel you should be with the person you had a child by, it’s hard to convince someone they made a mistake. But they can make you feel hurt if you have the slightest feeling of regret. And there goes that “r” word again. Regrets seep into people’s lives and it hurts deep when other people can see it. But why, why do we allow people to bring us down? A major part of it has to do with wanting to fit into the dominant society. We don’t want to be ostracized so we live according to the status quo. If that status quo says marry with a child we do so. And another part has to do with wanting to not be a statistic. Usually, if we are doing something that people try to make us feel bad about there is some form of negative connotation that leads to failure in their minds.

See, in the end, you are the only one in charge of your feelings. If I think you are ugly and you think you’re not, how does it have an affect. It does affect if part of you is self-conscious about your looks. I can capitalize off that emotion and make it work for me. Carve out your own identity and let no one make you feel bad in life. 

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“Don’t feel you have to prove yourself to nobody’s.”

Having something to lose is really important in our society. Not just in our society today, in the past and in the future. So why do so many people operate with this mindset of I have noting to lose? They operate this way because they don’t see themselves going anywhere in life. And when they don’t see nothing for themselves, they could care less about you. I was just watching an interview that Jay Z conducted where he was talking about coming into the music industry for the first time. He thought then superstar Notorious B.I.G. was scared not to walk into a nightclub. But it wasn’t fear, Biggie had something to lose at that time.

And that is hard for people at the bottom or just getting into a position of power don’t realize. Having something to lose, meaning not just money, but a bigger picture. B.I.G. had a bigger vision than Jay Z was able to see at the time. Now that Jay is where he is now he understands the bigger picture. And income along with socioeconomic have a lot do with having something to lose. Like I recently said, not just money alone, but money is a motivator. Yes, there are things that are bigger than money, yet monetary decisions are closely related to having something to lose. But who with money is effected by this losing or winning in society. In my opinion, athletes and entertainers are two groups of people that largely fall into this category. And a lot of times it’s public figures from poor backgrounds.

For example, the NFL draft just took place this past weekend and there were a lot of athletes from underprivileged backgrounds. They don’t understand how their lives are about to change soon as they sign that contract. And I am not saying just going places without being noticed. I mean the people you associate with in life. Everything you do is under a microscope. So if people are around you, they have to shift how they behave to be in your environment now. And the question is are they willing to do so? Are they willing to change themselves to help you persevere? Because with them around, now you become a babysitter. Whatever they do, you take the punishment for. For instance, NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones friend shoots someone at a nightclub. Adam is nowhere around, but the fact the guy is with you is enough for you to get punished.

If you told some of these guys that they now are responsible for whatever the people around them do, they would have second thoughts about being athletes. And the reason for this change is because you are not just some guy running a football. You’re not some musician making beats and singing, or acting in a movie. You become a brand, a figure for young people to look up to, and an investment for people who sign you to a contract. Some people say, I’m still me, but you’re not you anymore. You have this light on you, where you can’t be you. You are expected to be more than just you. Your morals and ethics go out the door, and it is more about the organization you represent; their morals.

In the end, your life will shift with every level of increase in life. You have no other choice, because with the good comes the downside. There is no all good in life. And change is can be hard, but not all change is bad. Sometimes growth is needed and must take place to make you a better you. 

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