Ian Ellis: Believers and non-believers, beware the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth

Mr Johnson then withdrew the remark.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg indicated that she had been told by one MP that the comment was intended as poking fun at another participant in a Zoom meeting who was “gobbling” cheese and pickle.

Crisis over.

But why did the episode attract so much attention at the time?

Perhaps because it did come as a reminder that greed is in fact anything but good.

While some do not distinguish between greater and lesser sins, greed nonetheless is one of what are widely known as the seven deadly sins.

Whether or not one actually believes in sin as a religious concept, the seven deadly sins bear thinking about because they are moral issues in themselves and are therefore relevant to believers and non-believers alike.

The 'big seven' are are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. They can each be seen as particularly dangerous to the individual, and to others, because of what those sins can lead to, and no doubt there are other candidates.

Pride: While people rightly can take a degree of satisfaction in their successes, it can morph into the conceit of pride, an “I'm better than you” attitude which destroys any vestige of humility or, indeed, proper perspective.

There can be suitable pride in one's country, born of a normal attachment to a familiar place and culture but, taken further, it can develop into ugly nationalism and a disdain of other countries and cultures just because they are not one's own.

We live in a vastly interconnected world and, even if only through the media, we have endless opportunities to experience different places, to learn of their outlooks, and thereby to see and appreciate whatever is worthy in them. So, it is important to beware of pride.

Greed: When one wants so much more than one needs and thereby loses any real awareness of the sheer scale of hunger, poverty and suffering in our world, things have got out of perspective.

The person who wants things only for himself or herself has forgotten that we human beings belong together and have a responsibility for one another.

While the desire to advance in business creates a good entrepreneurial environment, a love of money can escalate into a ruthlessness that dehumanises the customer who is seen only in terms of being a source of profit. There's certainly moral danger in that.

Wrath: It is true that Christian people often speak of “the wrath of God”, so how can wrath be a sin?

It is sometimes suggested that God's anger is the automatic consequence of human sin, built into reality as it were, something that is not actually done to us but that we draw upon ourselves, a spiritual experience, perhaps like the shame we feel of having done things that we know were wrong.

Then again, God's anger is sometimes described as “righteous wrath”, the anger of the good person at something bad happening, like those who protest passionately against injustice.

Human wrath is really anger that goes over the top. It is anger out of control, and we all know where that can lead.

It can literally be deadly.

Envy: This is the feeling when a person longs deeply for something another person has, such as goods or talents or success of some kind.

When envy is allowed, it can develop into hatred for the other person who has the coveted thing. Hatred in turn, of course, has all the potential to work itself out in violence.

Envy, when it really takes root, is potentially very dangerous.

Lust: Referring mainly to sexual desire that is not accompanied by loving feelings, lust treats the other person as an object, not as a person.

While sexual desire is a necessary part of human procreation, when it develops into rank lust it disregards the human dignity of the other person and, ultimately, can lead to uncontrolled sexual behaviour and even, ultimately, to rape itself.

Gluttony: Being usually seen as manifested mainly in persistent overindulgence in food and drink, gluttony is one of the deadly sins because it can lead to such a desire for those things that, as with greed, the actual need of others and of the world is simply disregarded.

With gluttony, the focus is entirely on self-gratification.

Sloth: The danger of idleness is not only that “idle hands” can turn to mischief, or worse, but also, and more importantly, that it can lead to a disregard for the fact that everyone's best efforts are actually needed in this world.

It is ultimately a self-alienating attitude that leaves individuals in a way strangely isolated.

It is good to work, to contribute positively to society. It is good for oneself as well as for others who benefit from it.

Moreover, it is especially good to work purely for the good of others and, as believers would say, to the glory of God who worked to create us in the first place.

Canon Ian Ellis is a former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette.