The Seven Lively Virtues: Goodness

Sermon, July 9, 2000

Texts: Micah 6:6-8; II Peter 1:1-11

Many of you may have heard of (or may have been taught) the catechetical category of the Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Seven Cardinal Vices. Do you remember what they are? What are the Seven Deadly Sins? The listing varies slightly between sources, but the most commonly accepted seven are (1) Pride, (2) Envy, (3) Avarice (or greed), (4) Wrath, (5) Lust, (6) Gluttony, and (7) Sloth. As best I could determine, the compilation of these seven deadly sins seems to have originated around the fifth century, when monastic orders basically tried to answer the question "What causes sin? What are the root causes, the root sources, in human nature that lead to sinful activity?" These seven are in and of themselves sins, but the teaching is that they are also the wellsprings from which all sinful actions come (these seven are not recorded as a unit or grouped together in the Bible, although all are mentioned therein). Around 600 A.D., Pope Gregory the Great formalized the list of seven as we know them today, and this listing gained a great deal of recognition during the Middle Ages. For example, I read that in the early fourteenth century the Archbishop of Cantebury ordered every minister in the Church of England to preach on the Seven Deadly Sins a minimum of four times a year! The Seven Deadly Sins show up in the literature (probably most notably in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales and Dante's Inferno); in the art and in many of the theological works of the time. To help remember them, and perhaps to remind the people of God about the base animal nature of sin, some early catechisms associated each deadly sin with a familiar barnyard animal (again, the lists vary slightly, but the following seemed to be the most generally accepted): Pride = Peacock; Envy = Dog (perhaps this is the origin of the envious saying, "You lucky dog."), Wrath = Wolf, Sloth = Donkey, Avarice = Fox, Gluttony = Pig, and Lust = the old Goat. Again, this not only served as a catechetical tool, but it also served as a reminder to the people of God about the animal nature of sin which we, who are made in God's image, are to strive to rise above. That reminds me of the Ann Landers response to the fellow who asked advice about a particular problem he had. Seems this man was carrying on simultaneous affairs with three different women over a period of several months, and he wrote to the advice columnist: "Until a few days ago, none of them knew the others existed and things were going fine. By chance two of them met each other, compared notes and found me out. Now they are furious with me. What am I going to do? P.S. Please don't give me any of your moral junk about sin or anything! Signed, Trapped." Ann Landers responded: "Dear Trapped: The one major thing that separates the human race from animals is a God-given sense of morality. Since you don't have that sense of morality, I strongly suggest you consult a veterinarian. Signed, Ann."

The main reason the Seven Deadly Sins are labeled "deadly" may be obvious...these base attitudes and their resulting actions diminish life, they damage the quality of life. It is good to be aware of the deadly sins, it is good to be wary of them, it is good to avoid them. However, rather than address the question, "What causes sin?", as did the monastics, for our purposes this morning I'd rather focus on the question "What causes virtue?" I think it's all too common for people to get so focused on avoiding bad behavior and its subsequent consequences, and we run and recoil in fear of those consequences ... but we run in confusion because we don't know where to go or we have forgotten which direction to run. Where should we direct our pursuit, and to what end should we channel our efforts and energies? Too often we are like the panicked squirrel in the middle of the highway ... he is disoriented, he scurries back and forth in sheer terror of the negative consequences of all those automobiles bearing down on him; but in his panic and terror and despair the poor squirrel has lost his way ... he has forgotten where to run! Have you ever felt like that? We get so focused on avoiding bad behavior, and/or avoiding the negative consequences of that behavior; we get so negative on what is "out there" and panicked by it all, that we begin to forget and lose sight of what is right and good in the first place! We lose sight of the wholesome, the lively beauty and nobility of what is right and good, and we don't remember which way to "run." (an aside: an old theological question debated by theologians for centuries is this: Does God command things because they are right, or are those things right because God commands them? For what it's worth, practically speaking (and at the risk of oversimplifying a complex issue, I believe the first....God the Creator commands things precisely because they are right and good. The second argument has merits, though...after all, God is the ultimate Cause and Source of goodness, and He commands things in accord with His nature.)

You may remember the multi-billion dollar crime bill both houses of Congress passed six years ago which included funding for things like midnight basketball, 100,000 additional policemen, and funding for a host of national commissions, task forces and studies to address the general issue of crime. In a subsequent commentary entitled "Why Not Commit a Crime?," published in January 1995 issue of Christianity Today, Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson insightfully wrote: "The massive crime bill that lawmakers passed last fall contains a chilling confession: They haven't a clue what causes crime (emphasis mine...slc). The bill earmarks several billion dollars to create a host of national commissions, task forces, studies, advisory boards -- and even a presidential summit - all to study the causes of crime. The tragic irony is that we're spending billions of dollars asking the wrong question. The question we ought to be asking is, 'What causes virtue?' Why do most people, most of the time, refrain from crime? Answer that question and we can begin to solve crime."

Mr. Colson went on to write about many failed explanations of crime throughout the centuries. In the nineteenth century, for example, it was commonly believed that criminals could be identified by physical features such as sloping foreheads and long arms; a trait that, frankly, describes most of the men with whom I played football in college and high school! It is now pretty obvious to all that no physical trait correlates universally with criminal behavior. On into the twentieth century, many believed crime could be blamed on the influence of bad environments. However, many people can and do overcome the negative influences of a bad environment. Some blame poverty for crime. However, wealth is no guarantee of virtue; after all, there are a lot of rich crooks. Also, if poverty caused crime, the Depression would have resulted in chaos and anarchy in the United States; however, compared to today, it was a relatively crime-free period. Mr. Colson concluded, in so many words, "Perhaps it is time to stop trying to explain the causes of crime and start asking how to explain the causes of virtue!"

In a speech given about the same time, Roman Catholic theologian Michael Novak drew an interesting parallel to economics. He noted that economists are forever seeking the cause of poverty. But the fact is that throughout human history the vast majority of people lived in poverty; since the dawn of mankind most people have lived at a subsistence level. Dr. Novak went on to say that the comparative affluence of the modern age began when British economist Adam Smith turned the question around: Rather than ask, "What causes poverty?", Adam Smith asked, "What causes wealth?" When people began identifying those forces and principles that create new wealth, and began nourishing and encouraging and promoting those forces and principles, prosperity fairly exploded onto the human scene. By the same logic, Novak said, there's nothing mysterious about why people commit crime. By virtue of our fallen human natures we are prone to lawbreaking. Rather than ask what causes crime, the more significant question that should be addressed by all these governmental task forces spending billions of our dollars is: What causes goodness? What encourages virtue? And how can we encourage and teach and inculcate and nurture and protect and promote those forces and principles which produce goodness? This is what we should be doing! Putting 100,000 policemen on the streets might be a well-intended step in the right direction at best, or good political theatre at worst; in any case, it is woefully inadequate. As Mr. Novak expressed it, we need to be seeking and promoting ways to put 275,000,000 policemen on the streets of our nation, individual "policemen" called consciences. When the conscience is on duty, he says, it is surprising how few actual police are needed on the streets.

I believe the apostle Peter is addressing the same issue as Mr. Colson and Dr. Novak; I think he is addressing the question, "What causes goodness?" In our reading from II Peter, we find a list of what I'd like to call the Seven Lively Virtues. II Peter 1:3 -- "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith (1) goodness; and to goodness, (2) knowledge; and to knowledge, (3) self-control; and to self-control, (4) perseverance; and to perseverance, (5) godliness; and to godliness, (6) brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, (7) love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (numbers and emphases mine --slc)

This section is pegged by some theologians as "The Ladder of Virtues." You've heard of Jacob's Ladder, well, this is Peter's Ladder. These are the steps that lead to goodness, that produce everything we need for godliness, that provide what we need to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. These are the "seven lively virtues" we will be studying probably for the remainder of the summer; I'll only have time now for a brief synopsis. We should focus our energies and efforts and attention on "climbing" this ladder of the seven lively virtues step by step, the virtues which lead to an ever increasing abundance and quality of life, and we mustn't stop climbing this ladder! The first step of the ladder is faith: Putting our faith in God through Jesus Christ, which then leads to the next steps of obedience ... making every effort to add to our faith goodness. As Jesus Himself said, it is as we obey Him, it is as we add to and act out our faith in doing the good things He calls us to do, that we come to know God better; knowledge is the next step of Peter's ladder. And as our knowledge of God and the things of God increases, as we come to know Him better, He gives to us an ever increasing ability to exercise self-control. As we more and more exercise self control, as we better master our passions and strengths, we find we better persevere in all things ... in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health. And as we steadfastly persevere, as we become increasingly rooted in our faith and the exercise of that faith, we develop godliness, godly character, Christ-likeness. This godliness goes on to manifest itself in brotherly kindness, as translated here ... the original Greek is the word philadelphia, perhaps more accurately translated as brotherly love (as in "the city of..." in Pennsylvania) -- the family affection of those who are siblings in God's family through Christ. This all culminates in the crown of Christian virtues, the supreme goodness, love.