" Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days, he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry. The devil said to him, ' If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, ' It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.' " [Luke 4: 1-4].
During the season of Lent, we are to pray. [Related blog posts, "Pray", April 4, 2011; "Transfiguration of Christ", March 5, 2012].
We are also called to give to others. [Related postings, "Give", April 12, 2011; "Giving My All", March 21, 2012].
As evident in this Scripture, we are also called to Fast. During the forty days in the desert, just as Jesus ate nothing, so we are to eat simply during Lent, and fast from meat on Fridays. Some Christians give up sweets or favorite foods to remind themselves of Jesus' obedience and humility as He fasted.
There are other ways of fasting, though. In essence, during Lent and at all times, we are called to refuse to feed our temptation to sin.
Like every other human being, I want to regard myself as someone who is not a Sinner. Or, I would like some "mitigating factors" to soften the blow, or even excuse me. AM I a sinner? Since we are all human, and by definition imperfect--- yes, we all are sinners!
When we think of sin, we often think of the Ten Commandments. This is a good start. Or, there are the Seven Deadly Sins, which have been around for many centuries.
However, we define it, the abhorrence of Sin, even the awareness of sin, seems to be almost obsolete today. Consider the Seven Deadly Sins, vs. today's culture:
There is Greed: Gordon Gekko in the movie, "Wall Street" famously uttered the line, "Greed is good". Recently the Federal government asked Michael Douglas, the actor who portrayed Gekko, to record a public service announcement setting the record straight, that Greed really is NOT good! Are we so used to Greed as something to be valued, that we need to be reminded of this? And, how many people do we know who believe that their worth in life is measured only by how much money they have?
I think that God wants all of His children to have just enough. God does not want us to live in utter poverty; neither does He want us to hoard an excess of assets. If I have extra blessings, I want to be generous.
There is Sloth: In a word, this is sheer laziness. God wants us to exercise our gifts, that is, to work to our potential, not just for our good, but for the good of others. I want to have the diligence and discipline to discover my gifts and to use them.
There is Wrath: In a word, this is Anger. I have known someone who was so filled with anger, that he was abusive and bigoted. I truly believe that he even hated himself. I want to be peaceful and patient with others.
There is Envy: This occurs when you resent someone for having something that you do not have. Not only are you burning up with resentment that you do not have this, you do not believe the other person should have it either. In our Western society, envy is a deep seated dissatisfaction with what we have. Advertisers prey on our sense of envy, to get us to buy things that we do not need or cannot afford. I want to be grateful for what I DO have.
During the season of Lent, we are to pray. [Related blog posts, "Pray", April 4, 2011; "Transfiguration of Christ", March 5, 2012].
We are also called to give to others. [Related postings, "Give", April 12, 2011; "Giving My All", March 21, 2012].
As evident in this Scripture, we are also called to Fast. During the forty days in the desert, just as Jesus ate nothing, so we are to eat simply during Lent, and fast from meat on Fridays. Some Christians give up sweets or favorite foods to remind themselves of Jesus' obedience and humility as He fasted.
There are other ways of fasting, though. In essence, during Lent and at all times, we are called to refuse to feed our temptation to sin.
Like every other human being, I want to regard myself as someone who is not a Sinner. Or, I would like some "mitigating factors" to soften the blow, or even excuse me. AM I a sinner? Since we are all human, and by definition imperfect--- yes, we all are sinners!
When we think of sin, we often think of the Ten Commandments. This is a good start. Or, there are the Seven Deadly Sins, which have been around for many centuries.
However, we define it, the abhorrence of Sin, even the awareness of sin, seems to be almost obsolete today. Consider the Seven Deadly Sins, vs. today's culture:
There is Greed: Gordon Gekko in the movie, "Wall Street" famously uttered the line, "Greed is good". Recently the Federal government asked Michael Douglas, the actor who portrayed Gekko, to record a public service announcement setting the record straight, that Greed really is NOT good! Are we so used to Greed as something to be valued, that we need to be reminded of this? And, how many people do we know who believe that their worth in life is measured only by how much money they have?
I think that God wants all of His children to have just enough. God does not want us to live in utter poverty; neither does He want us to hoard an excess of assets. If I have extra blessings, I want to be generous.
There is Sloth: In a word, this is sheer laziness. God wants us to exercise our gifts, that is, to work to our potential, not just for our good, but for the good of others. I want to have the diligence and discipline to discover my gifts and to use them.
There is Wrath: In a word, this is Anger. I have known someone who was so filled with anger, that he was abusive and bigoted. I truly believe that he even hated himself. I want to be peaceful and patient with others.
There is Envy: This occurs when you resent someone for having something that you do not have. Not only are you burning up with resentment that you do not have this, you do not believe the other person should have it either. In our Western society, envy is a deep seated dissatisfaction with what we have. Advertisers prey on our sense of envy, to get us to buy things that we do not need or cannot afford. I want to be grateful for what I DO have.
There is Gluttony: This is nothing more than outright piggishness. When I am in the supermarket, I see an entire aisle devoted to soda and chips. Really?! If I find that I want something, I ask myself, do I want it, or do really need it?
There is Pride: We all probably know someone who thinks they are superior, because of their title, their wealth, their expensive car, their fancy house. This is Pride. There are those who would criticize me for being humble. Perhaps they believe that I cannot handle a showy, powerful lifestyle. But, I purposely live a humble and simple life. The world does not understand this, but God does!
Finally, there is Lust: Embedded in our culture-- in movies, in television, in advertisements--is the habit of judging women only by their looks or "sex appeal". This is so common, do we even notice it any longer? This is Lust! To judge others this way ignores a person's gifts, her intelligence, her emotions, her faith and soul. To focus only on "sex appeal", and ignore the rest of the person, leaves no room for God.
God, I pray that I may starve the monsters of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. May I seek Modesty, generosity, moderation, diligence, patience, peace, gratitude and humility.
[Related Post: "Confronting Sin", Sept. 3, 2011"].
(c) Spiritual Devotional 2012. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment