Monday, November 8, 2010

The small matters

You know that guilty-sick feeling when you think you may have done something ungodly? It's like a small, reedy voice calling out to you from far away, intent on disturbing your peace. You will it to go away, but it persists. You pretend you can't hear it, but after a while that gets a little silly. What to do?

I think you should start by giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. This may sound like unChristian counsel, but I'm thinking of people like myself who sometimes have an overactive guilt reflex. It could well be that you just think 'this is the sort of thing that I would expect to be classified as boasting [or whatever]' and so you're feeling guilty. But maybe if you actually stop and examine your conscience and motivation, you will see that you are acting this way for perfectly fine reasons.

Sometimes after being nakedly honest with yourself, you will see that your motives are bad. When this happens you should take action. You will hate it, a massive part of you will fight against it and you will flirt with not going through with it. But shun that wide, easy path. Don't listen to the lies. Be faithful and pure in this small thing and your character and peace with God will flourish. You will gain beauty where before you had momentary, dirtied pleasure.