A missionary recently back from the heart of Africa was describing some
of the intimate things that she had learned regarding the natives.
As she spoke of the daily life of the natives, and told of the chief
problems of missionary work, there were three outstanding sins that
were emphasized. There is the gross immorality, which came up for
mention in connection with the description of the tribal dances and
what they lead to. There is the grasping after possessions, a tendency
to covetousness that is so deeply imbedded in their natures that
the missionaries need to exercise the greatest care in dealing with
new converts. This native quality came vividly to the missionary’s
mind when she was speaking of the native Christian evangelists and
the problem of compensating them in such a way that the old cupidity
will not be aroused. A third characteristic of the native in all the
villages is his consuming desire to secure a high place in the “Four
Hundred” of his tribe. There are distinct social honors, and for many
of the young men the passion of life is to win these honors.
This missionary had no intention of analyzing the outstanding sins
of the natives, but these three things naturally came before her as
she described their daily life. And these three comprise “all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
vainglory of life.”
Put into briefer form these three sins are lust, covetousness, pride.
All sin comes under one or other of these three classes.