Pride and Greed-The Deadliest Sins of All?

Human beings just don't get it. Pride as well as greed are very grave sins-known as two of the Seven Deadly Sins (also referred to as Capital Sins or vices). In case you've forgotten what the Seven Deadly Sins are: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed and Sloth (avoiding work).

When I read (with dismay) that "Sea levels are rising at the fastest rate in 2,100 years" or that "Shocking reports tell of alarming rate of mass extinctions in the oceans"...you have to wonder what kind of news or scientific reports it will take to wake up the human race before pride (we can do anything we want, without consequences), or greed winds up destroying all of creation on this planet, including us. I certainly hope not.......These kinds of news stories (very trending right now on the internet), I find quite disturbing.

Some people don't believe these reports and they choose to ignore them or downplay them. But soon, according to scientists you won't be able to ignore them any longer, as the effects of global warming (starting to show up already), will be in our faces, so to speak. Unless the global community starts to act and act decisively and constructively, I fear the future will hold more bad news for our children and grandchildren.

Where are the geniuses, the innovators, the creative, out-of-the-box thinkers and scientists? Who is listening to them? Who is listening to God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit? There are certainly enough warnings and promptings being communicated to us.

In the Bible the word listen appears 1,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 425 times in the New Testament. When I give talks to adults or children I always mention that. Do you think God wants us to listen? (It's pretty clear in the Bible that God does, for our own good.) Do you think God wants us to be good stewards of the Earth and care for this beautiful and awesome creation and use the resources wisely, for the good of all? I'd say, Yes! Is humankind listening? We can have a good business environment, create jobs, which this country desperately needs, while making good decisions to safeguard the environment. It's time for everyone to work together on this, because not to do so, is going to cost everyone in the future, money as well as security and well being.

The Pope seems to be listening. The Vatican has contracted "Mercedes for the first ever hybrid popemobile. That's some good news.

NJA

Some Scary Thoughts on Halloween

Today is Halloween. It's a beautiful day in the Northeast, so I thought I'd write a blog about some things I find frightening, in between opening my front door to adorable children dressed in costumes and wide smiles.

Human beings can be kind, wonderful, intelligent, generous and very good at times and at other times they can be mired in pride and arrogance which gets in the way of clear thinking. Pride is a deadly sin and arrogance isn't too far behind. What I'm referring to is a rather disturbing article I read at the Washington Post website titled, "Global Extinction Crisis Looms, New Study Says," by Juliet Eilperin. These types of articles "scare" me and my concern is not for myself but for my children and future generations of children. According to the article, "A growing number of creatures could disappear from the earth, with one-fifth of all vertebrates and as many as a third of all sharks and rays now facing the threat of extinction, according to a new survey assessing nearly 26,000 species across the globe." What are the causes? There are many causes such as destroying habitats where animals live, pollution, "invasive competitors," lack of concern and care. Selfishness, arrogance and greed would be some problems also associated with the loss of species. In my opinion, we're all guility to some extent, I don't think anyone has a perfect record on protecting the earth or the earth's creatures, to some degree we all have a part in this problem. Of course, there are some people who work very hard protecting the earth and the earth's creatures, and I think they should be applauded for their efforts.

Thank God for conservation efforts. According to an article in the Journal- Science, without conservation efforts now taking place, these losses would be twenty percent higher.

We always have to have hope. I try to be a hopeful Christian and think everything will turn out OK. I hope and pray future generations will take the problem of environmental degradation and global extinction of species seriously and they'll take action to improve conservation efforts. We can't really believe that we can continue the present course of action and not have a day of reckoning. We depend on the earth, it is our home too and we have to ensure that future generations are left with a flourishing natural environment.

May the Saints of God pray for us and ask God to give us the will and enlightenment to do the right thing! All you Holy Men and Women of God pray for us!

NJA

Greed and Its Disastrous Effects

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. It is a sin of excess, like lust and gluttony. It is also known as avarice or covetousness. It is an excessive desire for wealth or power. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." (Wikipedia)

Greed has played havoc with humankind. In news story after story the ill effects of greed can be seen. Throughout history, greed has been a destructive force.  And aren't we all guility of it to some degree. I try to be a charitable person and yet I have so much more than I need. Many of us in America as well as other rich countries have much.  And that's fine, people work hard and they should receive rewards for that....but there is so much excess. Unfortunately,  there are so many people who never get a chance for a better life. 

I read with interest a New York Times article titled, "Parasites in Paradise," by Peter Hotez. It begins, "President Obama has started an ambitious global health initiative that will deliver urgenty needed medicine and preventative care to hundreds of millions of people in poor countries. Included in the plan are efforts to devote resouces to 'neglected tropical diseases' .....that many think have gone the way of smallpox, but which still make up the most common ailments among the world's bottom billion." One thing I found interesting in the article was a statement that diseases in the Caribbean could be easily eliminated if every tourist who visited the Caribbean on vacation,  just gave one dollar (it would cost $20 million per year for five years) to this cause. One dollar, that's it. I'm sure people would be willing to donate one dollar, if asked, to support this endeavor.  

I'm always inspired by famous people as well as everyone else who give of themselves to great causes. There are many inspirational entertainers and leaders out there. There is so much good in the world, but there is also greed, which continues to be a problem for humankind into the 21st century.

NJA

Is Anyone Listening?

In April, Pope Benedict during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square said that greed lies at the root of all evil and is the source of the current economic crisis. Greed-one of the 7 deadly sins has caused havoc. On July 7th, Pope Benedict's third encyclical, Charity in Truth, was released. The document took two years to write and many revisions were made to incorporate "fallout from the financial crisis." It was released the day before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations met to coordinate efforts to deal with the global meltdown, signaling a clear Vatican bid to prod leaders for a financially responsible future.......(Newsday). 

In the document, Pope Benedict wrote, global economic activity needs to be directed toward pursuit of the common good and that businesses need to stop speculating for short-term profits at the expense of the larger community. 

Is anyone listening? If Pope Benedict is correct, which I'm sure he is, and if greed caused this global financial meltdown mess, then his words from the encyclical, that justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity should be taken very seriously by world and business leaders. Obviously, lies, greed and selfishness is not working and is causing havoc, on rich and poor alike. American households lost $1.33 trillion of their wealth in the first three months of the year alone. 

Each day, according to Bread (published by Bread for the World), 26,000 children die due to preventable causes. Forty percent of people in the world today live on less than $2.00 a day. I support the work of Bread for the World and other charities and in these small ways I feel as if I'm doing something, doing my part to help. But there is still more to do. We can all do something, small or great to help improve the plight of the poor in our country and in the world. 

Perhaps when all of us who can help, start giving more and caring for our brothers and sisters, throughout the world, then things will begin to change. Then perhaps everyone's wealth will be restored.........The current course of action does not seem to be working for anyone.

NJA