A little-big idea.
Face it: a theist cannot make sense of the world without viewing himself as unavoidably sinful to some extent, lest he tread beyond what is simply human nature and regard himself a god.
But some simple physics can help us make this world inhabited by six billion of our sinful kind a better place to live in. Take Newton’s notion of force-pairs, commonly called the Third Law of Action-Reaction, and flip it over to the realm of ethics—to the Catholic laity, these would be commonly called the Seven Capital Sins with their matching Virtues. Let us call these forces, for the sake of sounding smarter than we actually are, Sin-Antisin forces. While I do not aim to imply a negation of sin via virtue, there is an equivalence—a spiritual equilibrium we call peace—associated with doing some good deed for every evil one.
It’s pretty simple if you compartmentalize it, really.
Superbia-Humilitas: For every time you have been a braggart, or gloated in the face of others, make another person appreciate something new about him-or-herself.
Luxuria-Castitas: For every time you have lusted over someone, protect another’s dignity. (Especially in the face of the LRT manyaks.)
Avaritia-Caritas: For every time you have withheld your possessions, give what you can to someone needy.
Acedia-Industria: For every time you have been lazy to do the right thing, help anyone with any problem—menial or personal.
Gula-Temperantia: For every time you have eaten too much, share your baon with someone else.
Ira-Patientia: For every time you have acted angrily, violently so or simply out of spite, be patient with the next person who pisses you off.
Invidia-Humanitas: For every time you have wished another person’s wife, or house, or ass (in every possible context), be tolerant, be generous.
