Dear friend,

While doing some research for our Forgotten Virtues series, I stumbled upon a list of the Seven Social Sins. The Seven Social Sins are from a sermon given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson in Westminster Abbey, London, on March 20, 1925. This list is just as relevant now as it was then.

The Seven Social Sins are:

Wealth without work.
Pleasure without conscience.
Knowledge without character.
Commerce without morality.
Science without humanity.
Worship without sacrifice.
Politics without principle.

Interestingly, the above "sins" are usually attributed to Gandhi because he published them in his weekly newspaper in 1925. But Gandhi borrowed them from Frederick Lewis Donaldson, whose ashes are buried in a chapel in Westminster Abbey.

The word that caught my attention on the list is sacrifice , and it’s a mostly forgotten virtue. Sacrifice is the key to accomplishing great things in life, building healthy marriages and happy families, making the world a better place, and being more like Jesus. I'll be preaching on sacrifice this weekend.

See you Sunday,

David