Sunday, July 19, 2009

Like Flu


Have you noticed how you suddenly fall sick with flu? It does not give you any notice; it does not show you warning signs. Out of the blue, you have a headache, you feel body pains, runny nose and you find yourself in bed: yesterday you felt good and fit and all of a sudden, you have now a red nose, you are voiceless, dragging your body through the house.
Temptation comes in a similar way. One day you are happy, strong, clean and conscious but, without being alert, it just comes occupying your heart and mind, contaminating your soul, blocking your prayers and stealing all hope.
It gets worse when you give attention to the temptation, when you do its will and turn its way, when you allow your emotions to speak louder than your spirit and from temptation, sin is conceived.
Every human being is subject to that but those who are slaves of feelings and emotions are easy catches.
What most annoys me is that women are always classified in the second category: slaves of emotion. Therefore, we tend to be chronicle patients of temptation and sin.
 It is more related to assumptions rather than real facts: what we guess it has happened, what we imagine someone spoke of us, when we feel that others do not care, what we did that was not properly recognized.
It takes a split of a second to be tempted to judge, to envy, to despise, to hate, to bad mouth a friend, to go out of Christian way and give room to ungodly thoughts. 
I am not implying that men are not subject to it but those who master emotion can easily distinguish hypothesis from real situations therefore narrowing the passages to temptation at an emotional level. "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
Once David, a man according to God’s heart, has made such prayer and each one of us who wants to follow such wisdom, should do this same prayer everyday, asking God for a loyal spirit that will bring us closer to Him. We should be faithful in our words and thoughts and that will boost our immunity to the traps of our feelings. 
We will no longer be a chronicle patient of illusion, disappointments, expectations, grudges and we will keep our eyes set on the One above Who will never leave us on our own.
A loyal spirit is the vaccination that will shield you and me throughout the seasons.

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