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In 1925, Mohandas Gandhi laid out what he called "the seven social sins." They are listed below. Perhaps we could be more forgiving and call them the Seven Social Mistakes.
1. Wealth without work
When we hear this, perhaps our minds are apt to turn immediately to thoughts of rich fat cats sitting around sipping brandies while their money does everything for them. But what about our day to day obsession with credit? What about our tendency to assume that instant gratification will bring us happiness? A large percentage of our appreciation for our things and experiences comes from the amount of effort we invested in obtaining them. Without putting any effort into getting something, we often don't TRULY appreciate it until it is gone.
2. Pleasure without conscience
"Two for me. none for you." is how the old Twix commercial put this one. Much of the pleasure to be found in an activity or a choice we make is lost, though we may not realize it, when we seek only after our own pleasure, with no thought for how another is affected. When those activities that we find pleasurable also provide enjoyment to another, there is where we find our greatest satisfaction. Sharing your Twix and watching the satisfaction it brings another, is perhaps 100 times more enjoyable than eating both of them yourself. This is why, when we gain at the expense of another's happiness, say by stealing from or hurting them, in the end we are soon as unhappy as we ever were.
3. Knowledge without character
How many of us who are intelligent or knowledgeable use that knowledge to gain at the expense of others? How many of us use our intellect as a weapon? How many of us use it as a tool to "put others in their place?" Our character can be measured by what we do when we believe that there are no consequences. But what is it to be strong or smart or fast or to know what others don't know? It is to have been endowed with a gift. What we do with that gift determines how worthy we are to have received it. If we use our strength, intelligence or speed to take advantage of others or "cut them down to size", then that gift has been wasted on us. If we use our talents and abilities to lift others up, to lighten their burden in this life, then the gift was well given, and we are worthy indeed.
4. Commerce without morality
Capitalism as a system is as good as any other and better than some. But all systems up to this point in our history have failed human society miserably for one simple reason: we become so focused on the rules of the system that we lose sight of the human beings that they were meant to serve. If chasing after money is meant to benefit the human race, but during the course of chasing that money other humans are hurt, then the benefit provided to the human race has been canceled out. We must never forget that the rules of any society must serve that society's people first and foremost, not the other way around.
5. Science without humanity
Some of the great triumphs of our species have been in the arena of scientific endeavor. Some of the great atrocities perpetrated by our species have been committed throughout these same endeavors. One of the great tragedies and mysteries is how something as worthy as good intentions can lead our scientific method to cruel indifference. A man may say "think of the lives it will save" and then go on about his experiments not once questioning whether lives and livelihoods destroyed in the pursuit of his goal made the goal worth pursuing at all. Improving lives by creating misery is a dubious gain at best.
6. Worship without sacrifice
It is a great flaw in our common ancestry that continues on to this very day. We talk the talk and pray the prayers, but we don't walk the walk or take part in making prayers come true. What does it mean to worship without sacrifice? It means to speak to and adore a God that we hold in our hearts, while ignoring the very God that surrounds us daily. It means to believe in a God that loves us, but to not truly love God. The people around us, the air we breathe, the Earth from which all life is derived. This is as much a part of God as that concept we hold in our minds, if not more so. Regardless of what concept of God we adopt. And if you do not believe in God in any form? How is it any less important that you make the right choices, sacrifice thoroughly? After all, your actions are the only God YOU have. To love though it is painful. To care though it is inconvenient. To save judgment for our own actions. To do right though it may mean our very lives. That is true worship. Those are the sacrifices that true worship requires.
7. Politics without principle
We have been a selfish people and are becoming more selfish daily. Is it any wonder though? We call those in political office our "leaders." What is a leader but one who is followed? Principles are a compass that is meant to guide our decisions daily to the benefit of all. "Leaders" without principles are lost, with their people following close behind them. If principles are meant to benefit us all then, in the end, the lack of them can surely only harm us all.
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