In his
famous book, Confessions, one of the books I believe every Christian
should read, Augustine states: The
familiar evil was more powerful than the unfamiliar good. The context for this statement was his
description of how he finally relinquished his soul to the care of God and
became a Christian. Augustine was so
entrenched in his life of sin that he struggled to give up his mistress and
other vices in order to surrender to God.
Once he yielded
to the power of God, the unfamiliar good became a way of life. He became one of the most influential
Christians writers, and his books are still relevant today. As I re-read his
salvation story in Confessions, I recognized that I could relate to his
statement even as a Christian.
Evil remains too familiar to
me. I am not talking about the familiar
evil that Augustine was caught up in as a man of the world. I have long given up outward rebellion from
the obvious constraints that are given in God’s word: sexual purity, giving to others and God’s
work, daily reading and prayer. I don’t steal, murder, commit adultery,
etc. Yet it is too familiar for me to
hold onto wounds, obsess over how others are not doing the above as well as I
am, judging others and simply being caught up in the demands of living in a
fallen world while ignoring the God who entered this world via my very heart
and longs to lead and guide me through all the above struggles I mentioned.
Good is feeling a bit more familiar
to me, but evil remains far too familiar.
It is a battle for me to turn my mind over to good. My natural instincts remain set on evil. I’ve found my focus word and verse for this
year from 2 Peter 1: 5-8 are a rescue to hook me back to good and snatch me out
of the familiar evil where I naturally feel more comfortable. It has become a pathway to walk away from the
familiar evil. Here is what Peter wrote:
For this very reason, make every effort to
add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they
will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Virtue is the word I have
chosen for this year, and these verses guide me to a path of virtue. I have found that faith is a perfect place to
begin. After all, I need faith to leave
the familiar evil. I don’t want to leave
on my own. It is only my faith in God
and belief that He would not ask something that is bad for me that I even begin
to notice that I have another choice.
Next is goodness. Is it good? is the question I ask when I
am stuck in my prison of emotional upset from my own thoughts. How do I know it is good or not? I look to Christ; it is only my knowledge of
Him that makes me see where I really dwell in the familiar evil. Self-control is what keeps me from easily
slipping back to the path I desire to leave, and perseverance goes hand-and-hand
with self-control. If I stay on the path,
I feel the results of godliness (not reacting naturally or how the issues
naturally elicit thought, emotion and payback), kindness and ultimately agape
love.
There
is no better path to walk any day of the year.
I hope for the day that the familiar good will become a way of life and will
no longer be a struggle, but until then I will not stop striving to become more
and more unfamiliar with evil.
Copyright © 2017. Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
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