Going To Hell for Looking Pretty (or Wanting to)?
In the movie The Devil's Advocate , hotshot lawyer Keanu Reeves is so obsessed with the kudos and attention her receives for being undefeated in the courtroom, he destroys his own life, the lives of everyone close to him, and lives of many people involved in his trials. Even at the end of the film, when he goes to extreme lengths to redeem himself, he can't resist the lure of more self-glorification. The movie ends with Al Pacino, Satan in disguise, smiling evilly and declaring, "Vanity...definitely my favorite sin." According to the Catholic church, vanity is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. This makes some sense. The kind of self-glorification in the example of us can be destructive both to the sinner as well as to people in his circle. This selfish desire that excludes of the needs of others ranks right up there with envy, greed, and gluttony as something that has the potential to destroy society from the inside out. My exploration of vanity today isn't about that...