Pop-Quiz On Sin

I would like to start today with a short pop-quiz.  Don’t worry!  No one will see your answers (well, except God).  To make it simple the questions are all true/false.  They are all based on God’s Commandments and The Seven Deadly Sins.

True or False – 1. It’s the other person’s fault that I am angry.

True or False – 2. Since pride is a sin, I can never speak about anything good I do.  That won’t be humble.

True or False – 3. It’s his/her fault that I have lustful thoughts because of the way he/she dresses.

True or False – 4. Rich people can’t get into Heaven.

True or False – 5. Poor people always get into Heaven.

True or False – 6. The Eighth Commandment says I must always tell the truth.

True or False – 7. It’s okay to take the towels home from the motel.

True or False – 8. It’s okay if I am late for work.

True or False – 9. It’s okay if I only go to Mass occasionally.

True or False – 10. The Fourth Commandment, “honor your father and your mother”, is only for children.

Now, go back through the questions and ask yourself how you think God would answer the questions.

I made the quiz simple.  The whole point is to make us think.  God does not look at test scores to determine whether we will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.  It’s a good thing for many. 

God does not grade on a curve.  In other words, we don’t have to just be better than everyone else.  God looks into the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7).  What is in your heart at this moment as you think about your answers to this quiz?

Let’s go over the questions in light of God’s Commandments and The Seven Deadly Sins.

1. It’s the other person’s fault that I am angry.
There are at least two ways to look at this question.  The first is to point out that even Jesus got angry (Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-18, John 2:13-18).  How can it be a sin to get angry if Jesus did?  Here, we must be careful to not use this as an excuse.  Jesus did get angry.  God has reason to be angry towards us when we do not listen to him, or perhaps deliberately choose to ignore him, and sin.  Anger as an emotion is real.  . 

Paragraph 2302 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says

Anger is a desire for revenge. “To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit,” but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution “to correct vices and maintain justice.” If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, “Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.”

We must not let control us.  It is when we do let our anger control us that it becomes one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  It is this type of anger that Jesus teaches violates the Fifth Commandment in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-26).

2. Since pride is a sin, I can never speak about anything good I do.  That won’t be humble.
Pride is also one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  We are prideful when we boast of the good that we do in order to make ourselves look good.  This does not mean that we can’t acknowledge the good that we do.  We are to be humble while acknowledging the good that we do as flowing from the gifts that God gives us.  It only becomes the sin of pride when we do it for fame or when we fail to share the credit with God and anyone else who helped us.

3. It’s his/her fault that I have lustful thoughts because of the way he/she dresses.
Lust is another one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Jesus teaches us that to even think lustfully of another person violates the Sixth Commandment against adultery (Matthew 5:27-30).  To not have lustful thoughts can be difficult.  To hide our guilt, we may wish to blame the person we are lusting after.  It is true that the way they dress (or act) may cause lustful thoughts.  (Pray they learn modesty).  What do you do with the thought?  Do you immediately push the thought away or do you engage in the thought for a while?  If we engage the thought, we become fully responsible for our lustful thoughts.  The better we do at resisting lustful thoughts and looking at the person’s heart rather than their body, the better we will do at not having lustful thoughts.  (see – Exodus 20:14 and Catechism, 2331ff)

4. Rich people can’t get into Heaven.
I don’t recall Jesus ever saying rich people can’t get into Heaven.  What He does say is “It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25).  The rich person may find it more difficult to get into Heaven if they refuse to let go of their earthly riches.  Having money is not sinful.  Rather, as Paul says, “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).  It is our attachments to things that we must let go of.  It is not just our attachments to things that we must let go of.  If we hold a grudge, we become attached to our anger.  If we engage in lustful thoughts, we can become attached to them.  We need to let go of our attachments.

5. Poor people always get into Heaven
Just as Jesus didn’t say that rich people can’t get into Heaven, He didn’t say that all poor people do.  While poor people have less physical things to be attached to, that doesn’t mean they don’t struggle with greed or hold on to past anger.  They need to let go of their attachments to these just as rich people do.  (They may also struggle with a different sin.)

6. The Eighth Commandment says I must always tell the truth.
Specifically, the Eighth Commandments says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).  From this, we know we should not lie (see paragraph 2464 and following in the Catechism).  Does this mean that we must always tell the truth?  Paragraph 2489 says, “No one is bound to reveal the truth who does not have the right to know it.”  Your spouse has a right to know what you do after work.  A coworker doesn’t.  This does not mean that you can lie to the coworker about things unrelated to work.  You just can’t lie about it.  If they want to socialize outside work with you, it is okay to say you have something else to do as long as you do.  You don’t have to tell them what that something else is.

7. It’s okay to take the towels home from the motel.
Why would be okay to take the towels home?  Some people say hotels expects guests to take the towels home.  Do they have proof of this?  I’ve never seen a sign in a hotel room that says it’s okay to take the towels home.  To take the towels without permission is to steal, thus breaking the Seventh Commandment (see Exodus 20:15 and Catechism, 2401ff).  I would propose that taking the towels home without paying for them affects not just the hotel but other guests who pay higher prices for the hotel to cover the costs of the towels that are taken home.

8. It’s okay if I am late for work
When we accept a job, we expect to be paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work (paragraph 2434 speaks of what a just wage is).  The employer has the right to expect a fair day’s work for the pay they give us.  To be late and not show it on your timesheet is stealing because we haven’t done a fair day’s work.  (If one does makes up the time or shows only the hours actually worked on their timesheet would mean the late worker has not stolen.  There may be other moral considerations such as not honoring the time you promised to work.  Of course, they can be moral reasons to be late.)

9. It’s okay if I only go to Mass occasionally.
Notice I underlined only.  We are talking about the Third Commandment here.  It says, “Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, cf. Catechism, 2168ff).  Keeping the Sabbath holy includes attending Mass.  The Third Commandment does not include the word “occasionally.”  We are to always keep the Sabbath Holy.  Paragraph 2180 speaks of our Sunday obligation to attend Mass while paragraph 2181 speaks of valid reasons to miss Mass.  Fun and games are not a valid reason to miss Mass.

10. The Fourth Commandment, “honor your father and your mother”, is only for children.
For children, the Fourth Commandment is often expressed as obey your parents.  As adults one can say we no longer need to obey our parents.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to them.  Honoring our parents (Exodus 20:12) includes respecting them throughout our entire life.  It can also mean doing what we can as adults to help them in their needs.  This includes not ignoring their needs in their old age (see paragraphs 2197ff  of the Catechism for more on what the Fourth Commandment says about family relationships).

I hope this quiz and my reflection on the questions has led you to reflect on your actions.  If it leaves you wondering if there is other things that you have done, I suggest you make a thorough examination of conscience.  Here is one I wrote.  If you search on the internet for “examination of conscience”, you will find all kinds of possibilities.

If this article has made you aware of past sins, do not be afraid.  I will leave with Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more” (John 8:11).

Peace,

Fr. Jeff