“It seems to me that the zeroth deadly sin is ego.”

“Zeroth?”

“Yeah. Zeroth. As in zero, one, two, three…”

“Right. You’re a computer geek. And you start counting at zero.”

Chuck smile. “Yeah. Or maybe it would be better as A.”

“A?”

Chuck elaborated, “Yeah. A. Like if you were making an outline. Part A. Ego. Section 1, pride. Section 2, greed. Section 3, wrath. Section 4, envy. Section 5, lust. Section 6, gluttony. And…”

“Section 7, sloth. Yeah. Yeah. The Catholic Church’s seven deadly sins. At least according to Wikipedia.”

Chuck looked over at his friend’s tablet. “Yeah. According to Wikipedia.”

“So what is this ego thing. The one sin to rule them all, so to speak?”

Chuck laughed. “Hey, that’s clever. You just come up with that yourself?”

Chuck’s friend smiled.

Chuck continued, “I know. Tolkien.

“Anyway…. See, ego is the center of all those seven deadly sins. When we think too much of ourselves, they say we have too much ego. We are egotistical. But I think it is much more than that. When we have that much ego, we are putting ourselves in God’s place. We are worshipping ourselves. We actually love ourselves too much. And when we love ourselves that much, when we put ourselves in God’s rightful place, we are prone to do all those seven deadly sins. Pride, greed, envy. And the others. They all show us and everybody else that we love ourselves too much.”

“Ha! It seems most people love themselves too little. They don’t think they’re worth a lick. Imagine somebody actually loving himself too much. So much that he thinks himself a god.”

Chuck frowned. “I know what you mean. I think it’s a sin not to love yourself, too. I mean, you’re an image bearer. You are created in God’s image. And by you, I mean everybody.”

Chuck’s friend nodded agreement. “Yeah. Imago Dei.”

“Right, Imago Dei.”

“So how is it that some people love themselves too much and others love themselves not enough?”

Chuck shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. Such a deep mystery. And yet, too big an ego and too small an ego are both wrong. One because it places you in God’s position. The other because you discount God completely.”

The two friends were silent for a time. It was apparent that they were both deep in their own thoughts.

“You know, Chuck? I think you’re right. I think the zeroth deadly sin is ego. And it could be either form. Too much or too little. Like you said, both discount God, just in different ways. One way, you’re god to yourself, the other way, you completely ignore God.” Chuck’s friend smiled.

Chuck smiled back. “You’ll make a fine preacher one day, my friend. A fine preacher, indeed.”

“And my first sermon will be about the zeroth deadly sin.” Chuck’s friend winked.