Emphasis Preaching Journal

In the year 590, Pope Gregory I, also known as Pope Gregory the Great, established the list that is commonly known as the Seven Deadly Sins, which are: pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Some 1,400 years later, as we move into the twenty-first century, perhaps we ought to expand the list to eight. This time adding a temptation that had not appeared before but is appropriate for a technological society. The new temptation would be "fame." In the November 11, 2009 issue of the New York Times Alessandra Stanley wrote, "Fame has a spellbinding power in American society, the one thing that can trump wealth, talent, breeding and even elected office. Reality shows and social websites like Facebook long ago knocked down barriers that kept ordinary people trapped in obscurity." For this reason, Stanley wrote, "... some people take huge risks for the freedom to be someone else -- a celebrity." She lifted up as examples the Salahis, who crashed a White House state dinner; the Heenes, who pretended a child was trapped in a runaway balloon; and the Gosselins, who showcased their eight children, all desiring to share the limelight of a reality television show.

Application: It is our disobedience to God's outline for proper living that makes us sinners.