A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

It is certainly a fact of life and thus should be a serious concern for our life of faith that we can seek too much pleasure. We can eat too much, drink too much, become so angry or so jealous that we cannot think straight or act sensibly. We can and we do, each one of us, at times in our lives. That does not mean we are gluttons or sexual perverts or anything like that. It simply means that we can go overboard, overindulge, on occasion. We have. We also know the harm even such momentary outbursts can cause others and cause even ourselves.

When we do not maintain some sort of self-control, when we allow our passions and desires to grab hold of us and then gain control over our human appetites, it can be a long and difficult journey back to normalcy. We do not become gluttons, for instance, overnight nor do we become self-controlled in the area of food intake overnight. The road back from perdition is as long as the road to perdition, and we should make no mistake about it. And it is a very difficult road at that.

Just as vice has to be fed to become vicious, so virtue has to be fed to become victorious. Neither happens automatically. It would be wonderful if we never had to worry about our passions taking over and getting the better of us. It would be even more wonderful if a virtuous life were standard operating procedure for each and every human being. But passions being what they are and the pleasure attached to succumbing to them being what it is, virtue is in for a battle even if it is more natural for us to be virtuous than not, which it truly is, child of God that each of is.

In order for us to live a good and godly life, we have to work at it. In order to stay strong when passion rears its head, we have to work at it. It is always easier to give in, which is why we sometimes do. It takes grace and strength to resist those temptations that push us to go too far. Saying “no” to pleasure, God-created pleasure, when that pleasure is misplaced or misused is difficult, even when we know what we are doing is wrong. Such is the nature of what has now become a beast.

We know that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We know that when our passion to do what we know is wrong kicks in, the fruit of the Spirit can easily take a beating and, often and unfortunately, lose.

We also know that good intentions to live in the Spirit are not enough, especially when they are placed face-to-face with those passions that would turn good into bad. Yes, we have to be intentional about being self-controlled, kind, loving and all the rest. But we also have to be intentional about doing the work necessary to make virtuous living our standard operating procedure, one that flows naturally from us. But even then, we can never let down our guard, never, ever.

Perhaps beginning each day asking the Holy Spirit to help us eat of the Spirit’s fruit will keep us on the straight and narrow that day. If we do so, we will be well fed.