Scripture: Ben sira 18:30-31
Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites. If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire, it will make you the laughingstock of your enemies.
Thought for the Day: I don’t use apocryphal books very often, but I made an exception for today. The book called Ben Sira (or called: The Book of All-Virtuous Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira or the Wisdom of Sirach) was written some 200 years before Jesus and is considered by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians part of the Biblical Cannon. It is a collection of ethical teachings, a little like the Proverbs, but on a wide variety of subjects. In this 18th chapter, God is presented as majestic, sovereign and eternal. At the same time, God has compassion for every living thing (18:13) and directs the creation like a good shepherd. As you move to the end of the chapter, there are many pithy pieces of advice, including these cautionary words about base desires or what might be called unhealthy passions. Restraint is a powerful tool in the belt of a Christian as there are so many unhealthy enticements. This is not referring to the Snickers Bar you had yesterday or the French Fries you got a McDonalds on your way home from work (as a pre-dinner snack). Though these items probably fit with the word unhealthy, there are more dangerous things clamoring for our attention. The ability to restrain is not built into the human psyche, but it can be developed through God’s encouragement and the Spiritual Disciplines. This coming Sunday, we will talk about the Biblical notion of fasting. Teaching ourselves to say, “No” when it may not be necessary makes it easier when it really is necessary.
Prayer: Teach me; encourage me; train me up in the ways of restraint. Lord God, I do not wish to be mocked by others when the things of this world get the upper hand in my life. I do not wish to be a servant to anything or anyone except for you, O Holy One of Life. Amen.
THIS SUNDAY
The Big Red Truck
Collecting Food For NAM
Bring meats such as canned chili, stew,
ravioli, tuna, salmon and chicken
as well as beans, canned fruit.
