Vice, Personality, And How We Are Wired

Dear St Andrew’s,

We are now halfway through The Seven: From Vice to Virtue. Along the way, several thoughtful questions have arisen. Here are three of the most important.

First, what is the difference between sin, a sin and a vice?

The Bible uses the word sin in several related ways.

Sometimes sin describes the deep disorder affecting fallen humanity—our condition of rebellion against God and the power that draws us away from him. Paul therefore speaks of sin as something that seeks to rule us: “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).

A sin, by contrast, is a particular expression of that deeper disorder: a wrong action, word, thought, desire or omission. We tell a lie, lose our temper, harbour resentment or refuse to do the good we know we should do. As James writes, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17).

A vice is different again. It is not simply one sinful act, but a settled habit of the heart—a well-worn rut into which our desires and decisions repeatedly slide. James describes how desire can give birth to sin (James 1:14–15). When sinful desires are repeatedly indulged and sinful actions repeatedly chosen, a vice can become embedded in our character.

We might say that envy is the vice; taking pleasure in someone’s failure is one of the sins it produces. Sloth is the vice; avoiding a loving responsibility may be one of its sinful expressions. Not every sin has become a vice, but repeated sins can form a vicious pattern. A vice may eventually become so familiar that we scarcely notice the sins flowing from it.

This is why the gospel offers more than forgiveness for individual sins—wonderful though that is. Through Christ, God frees us from sin’s guilt and power; then, by his Word and Spirit, he begins reshaping our character—from vice to virtue—so that we increasingly become like Christ.

Second, how is a vice different from a personality type?

Our personalities are part of the wonderful variety among the people God has made. Some are naturally outgoing; others quieter. Some love careful plans; others enjoy spontaneity. Some make decisions quickly; others need three conversations, a spreadsheet and a strong cup of coffee.

None of these is automatically virtuous or vicious. Personality describes how we tend to experience and respond to the world. Vice concerns whether our settled patterns turn us towards or away from loving God and our neighbour.

Our personalities may, however, make us more susceptible to particular temptations. A confident person may be especially vulnerable to pride—but may also exercise courageous leadership. A cautious person may be tempted by fear—but may also display great wisdom. An energetic person may hide in busyness; a reflective person may hide in endless deliberation.

Sometimes personality becomes an excuse. Someone who regularly loses their temper may shrug and say, “That’s just who I am.” There may be some truth in that description: perhaps they have always reacted quickly or grew up in a home where anger was normal. Such things may help to explain our behaviour, but they do not necessarily excuse it.

For Christians, “That’s just who I am” cannot be the end of the conversation. Resigning ourselves to patterns that prevent us from loving God and others can itself become a form of sloth—a reluctance to undertake the work that love requires. God works with the people we really are—with our particular temperaments, histories and limitations—but he is also forming us into the likeness of Christ. Our personalities shape the path along which we grow; they do not place us beyond the possibility of growth.

The question is not, “Do I have the right personality?” God is not turning every Christian into the same sort of person—what a dull church that would be! The question is, “Within the personality God has given me, am I learning to love him and others more faithfully?”

Third, what about neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD?

This question became particularly important when we considered sloth as distraction. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition which can make regulating attention, impulses and activity especially difficult. It is not a vice, a sin or evidence of spiritual immaturity.

The same outward behaviour can have very different causes. Someone may leave a task unfinished because they are resisting the responsibility before them. Another person may desperately want to complete it but find their attention repeatedly pulled away. Only God understands perfectly the complex mixture of ability, limitation, intention and circumstance within each of us.

As we said in the sermon, weariness is not wickedness. Nor are depression, trauma, disability, chronic illness or neurodevelopmental difference. Sloth is not simply low energy or poor concentration. It is the settled resistance of the will to love’s rightful claim.

Yet none of us—whatever our personality, history or diagnosis—is beyond the Spirit’s transforming work. That does not mean ADHD will disappear if someone prays harder. Spiritual growth is not the erasure of every limitation. It is learning, within the life we have actually been given, to trust and obey Christ.

For one person, diligence may mean an hour of uninterrupted concentration. For another, it may mean using medication, alarms, written reminders, shorter periods of prayer or the support of another person. Virtue will not look identical in every life.

As I said last Sunday, we are looking for progress, which is possible—not perfection in this life, which is not. And progress will look different for every person. For someone prone to anger, it may mean recognising the warning signs, pausing before speaking or apologising more quickly. For someone easily distracted, it may mean creating structures that help them return to what matters.

We have all been shaped by both nature and nurture—by our bodies and brains, families and experiences, wounds and choices. These profoundly affect us, but they do not finally define us. The question is not, “Have I completely overcome this?” but, “By God’s grace, am I taking the next faithful step?”

As Rebecca DeYoung writes, self-examination should be neither “a guilt trip nor a recipe for despair.” It is an invitation to be set free. We can face our vices honestly because our hope rests not in our ability to perfect ourselves, but in the grace of Christ and the transforming work of his Spirit.

Blessings,

James