Thinking Out Loud
Seven Deadly Sins

October 7, 2012
By: Diane Szczepanski

Seven Deadly Sins

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice.

Mahatma Gandhi

Seven bullet points.

That's it.

Ghandi has summed up in just seven well thought, yet simple philosophies, the crux of living a valuable, productive life.

Wealth without work: The reward is always sweeter when our fruits have been earned by hard labor, thrifty saving and a little sweat.

Pleasure without conscience: The feelings of others matter. Always.

Science without humanity: Does it truly advance us and bring us to better quality of life if performed with pain to living things? Or at the expense of our living planet?

Knowledge without character: To be educated without nobleness of behavior, is as to eat without receiving nutrition.

Politics without principle: A clear head, a clear direction and clear communication of trustworthy intent, means so much more than promises and pandering to few, at the expense of the many.

Commerce without morality: The days of the handshake deal and the commitment it implied seemed a very suitable and much missed moral barometer of one's character.

Worship without sacrifice: Fulfilling spiritual duties is not simply in attendance at weekly services. Sometimes our sacrifices are painful, but are always enriching for our hearts.

I'm going to think about these things more closely as I go through this week and make sure I am in living in line with how I should be. I will take more opportunities to reflect on how my actions affect others.

It's just seven significant points to remember.

Even I can do that.