Well...I just have been reading a not-so-old commentary on Paul's letter to the church at Colossae. It was written in 1982.
It has amazing things to point out here at the end of Lent. Here's an excerpt:
"The subtly of sin is that it always travels incognito. Though clearly identified and labeled in the fourth century as the seven deadly sins--pride, envy,anger, sloth, avarice,gluttony and lust--these now parade in modern garb and are often given status by being cast in psychological company: self expression, self-fulfillment, assertiveness, identity, taking care of my own being, the right to my own space, therapeutic enhancement. All these terms express deep emotional, psychological, even spiritual needs, but unfortunately, they also become the easy snare of sin's entrapment.
With what ease we we justify adultery and other non-Christian uses of sex by talking about self-expression and personal freedom. Without a sense of responsibility, we become available to others because we seek our own space. We callously trample on the being and feelings of others because we want to assert who we are...and on it goes. Sex is reduced to lust; we become gluttons as we move from one effort at satisfaction to another; our neurotic need to belong makes us envy; our accomplishments fill us with pride.
We are our own center of reference, thus we are estranged. The emptiness we know, the feeling that we are driven, our lack of confidence, our fear of relationships and our terror of the future, our hoarding of ourselves and our talents, and our profane extravagance and waste of materiel resources--all these witness to the fact of sin and its tenacious pull on our lives.
Even when that stranglehold is broken, we do well to remember. Colossians 1:21--"and you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled you."
We need to remember where we have come from; from what we have been rescued, and by Whom. We must never forget our absolute and utter dependance upon Jesus Christ for living real life now and for however long He gives us breath. We flourish in Him and in Him alone.
It has amazing things to point out here at the end of Lent. Here's an excerpt:
"The subtly of sin is that it always travels incognito. Though clearly identified and labeled in the fourth century as the seven deadly sins--pride, envy,anger, sloth, avarice,gluttony and lust--these now parade in modern garb and are often given status by being cast in psychological company: self expression, self-fulfillment, assertiveness, identity, taking care of my own being, the right to my own space, therapeutic enhancement. All these terms express deep emotional, psychological, even spiritual needs, but unfortunately, they also become the easy snare of sin's entrapment.
With what ease we we justify adultery and other non-Christian uses of sex by talking about self-expression and personal freedom. Without a sense of responsibility, we become available to others because we seek our own space. We callously trample on the being and feelings of others because we want to assert who we are...and on it goes. Sex is reduced to lust; we become gluttons as we move from one effort at satisfaction to another; our neurotic need to belong makes us envy; our accomplishments fill us with pride.
We are our own center of reference, thus we are estranged. The emptiness we know, the feeling that we are driven, our lack of confidence, our fear of relationships and our terror of the future, our hoarding of ourselves and our talents, and our profane extravagance and waste of materiel resources--all these witness to the fact of sin and its tenacious pull on our lives.
Even when that stranglehold is broken, we do well to remember. Colossians 1:21--"and you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled you."
We need to remember where we have come from; from what we have been rescued, and by Whom. We must never forget our absolute and utter dependance upon Jesus Christ for living real life now and for however long He gives us breath. We flourish in Him and in Him alone.
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