Eugene Rolfe, in his book, The Intelligent Agnostic's Introduction To Christianity, did a skillful assessment of the human tendencies we often derogate as sins. Far from being shut off from our lives, these instincts are the ones which give us our vitality and must be utilized; the only caveat herein would be that these be lifted up to God, to relate these instincts to the "center of our being." What at first glance are mere evils to be shunned are, in fact, the stirrings of the psyche to be complete, to be one with the Divine.
Eugene Rolfe sums it up as follows:
Pride: But the instinct behind pride is that magnificent affirmative thrust for living which will fight to the last for its place in the sun. Without this kind of primary egotism, death would very soon supervene. It is this force, too, which keeps alive in me that spark of distinctive individuality...
Envy: In its positive aspect of emulation, it is that outward-stretching power in me which appropriates the qualities I lack and so, by assimilating me to the characters of people whom I admire, and from whom, therefore, I can learn, helps me to fulfill my entelechy of wholeness.
Accidie (Sloth): Yet, idleness, as a necessary counterpoise to action, can lead us directly to the inner life and to the contemplation of the Highest
Eugene Rolfe doesn't elaborate on the other sins, suffice it to say that all these are desires. "Desire, as the Buddha saw, is the root of all evil. It is also the root of all good..."
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