There is a risk nowadays when the world is pervaded from top to bottom with lies and deceit that those of us on the side of God and Creation may be forced into a state of perpetual opposition. We find ourselves against almost everything and may be defined by a contrary spirit. It's hard not to be trapped by this because evil, frequently posing as good, is rampant in the modern world. But a trap is what it is as constantly feeling oneself to be fighting against something can often obscure or overlay the thing one is actually for. This, of course, does not mean ignoring evil or failing to condemn it. That remains essential. But it does mean focusing on the good at all times and not allowing the darkness to take up all one's attention and energy.
The reality is God and his purpose for us as spiritual beings. Everything that does not derive from this is false. We need to point out the false and confront it when it becomes powerful but we need to do so while remaining firmly fixed in God. It is all too easy to hate evil on the human level. God hates evil. It is an affront to his being and his truth and his goodness. But he hates it without letting the hate consume him or alter him in any way. It's almost a dispassionate hate though I believe it's also passionate if that makes sense. We have to adopt the same attitude. Hate evil because we love good and not let the hate take us away from the good and everything that the good means which primarily is love.
Creation means injecting cosmic order into chaos. But matter is always working to break down the creative energies and return everything to primeval chaos. As the end of an age approaches this disintegrating process accelerates. We are far from the initial creative impulse because, even though God may be creating afresh all the time, the original act of creation is what sets the whole procedure going and gives it its life force. It is the energy that drives the whole age and it sets the pattern for that age notwithstanding the many subsidiary contributions. This means that what is happening now is just what we should expect to happen now. That is not a justification to jump on board and go with the flow. Spiritual progress is made by going against the flow at a time like this, but we cannot expect the current to go in a different direction to the one it now goes in.
What this amounts to is that the evils of the present day are inevitable. We must stand apart from them and identify them clearly but we must not allow ourselves to be caught up in them so that we start actually defining ourselves by our opposition to them. That way they have control over us.
4 comments:
Excellent and good.
I was just thinking today that so much of my life lately is caught up in "opposition" - defending myself against the negative spiritual forces at work today.
Yet surely this is not how we are meant to live, but rather our primary occupation should be manifesting the beautiful and good values?
To clearly recognize and defend against the encroachment of the bad values is important - but our main energies should surely be towards living the good values, and it's easy to get too caught up in mere defense.
Yes, the more the darkness spreads, the more we should pay attention to the light.
I've been guilty of this especially in the past two years. The Lord has been convicting me to focus on posting positive messages on social media, not dwelling on the evils that are being broadcasted every minute. That doesn't mean being oblivious to what's going on. However, focusing on the good, beautiful, and true is far more conductive to spiritual growth.
It can be so easy, as John Fitzgerald worded, to generate "a lot of heat, but no light." Of course, standing against evil is important. However, we need to be for the light, not simply against darkness. Excellent post.
Thanks Lady Mermaid. This is the kind of post I write to remind myself as much as anyone else.
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