We first think of temptation in terms of our tendency to be attracted to committing ethical wrongs. But temptation also has temporal (future) aspects; we are attracted to do good things before we should, important things before we are ready, hard things before we’ve earned the competency. Mastering self-control with respect to these sorts of temptations is one way that we gain wisdom.
Category: christian life
Looking for the Right Kind of “All In”
Christians can never be “all in” on anything but Jesus. This puts the reflective person into a dissociative quandary. One’s occupation may or may not survive the refining fire of the eschaton, but it doesn’t make one’s job unnecessary. One’s employer may exist only because of the dysfunctions of a society or even due to injustice, but it doesn’t take away the duty of laboring as unto Jesus. One’s country may be unjust to others or to oneself, but it is no less a gift of God. We understand pilgrims to be those who go somewhere, but one can also be a pilgrim who stays and faithfully lives the awkward life given to us. Each of us bears not the spanner/lance/pen/keyboard/hammer/welding torch in vain.