The Seven Deadly Sins In The Confessions By Saint Augustine

Of the “Seven Deadly Sins”, the vice of envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation. Envy provides man the opportunity to get ahead in society by taking what someone else has. In The Confessions, Saint Augustine examines how a “notorious sinner” (Saint Augustine) is enticed by the desire to prosper and have a perception of high value among others. But does this desire to prosper attract them further into a life where you desire what you don’t have? By looking at the work of Saint Augustine and scriptures from Matthew we understand that with a desire to prosper it is possible to be “sucked into sin as if by a drug” (Saint Augustine). As a result of this understanding of envy, the relationship between desire and sin is made clear.

In order to explain how this desire is used to prosper against others, we must first understand what desire is. Desire is a strong feeling

As we begin to focus on our desire to prosper and hold treasures our goals become envious and lack kindness. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal…But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal…” (Matthew 6:19-20). In this sermon, it is stating what true value the tangibles on Earth have compared to the treasures that are held in Heaven. In this comparison, we learn that the things we do here on Earth mean nothing if it was not done serving God and the perceptions others form of us also do not matter because we are all equal in his eyes. For “… great is your reward in heaven…” (Matthew 5:12). Anything that we accumulate on Earth will not withstand the greatness for what God has instore because his reward is eternal. Our desire for greatness could be what keeps us from it all