Thought for the Week
Honestly? If it weren’t for mixed motives I’d have no motives at all. True, I’m an idealist. I want (earnest cliché alert) to make the world a better place.
But I’m also a hopeless egoist, and no matter what I do I can never completely rid myself of the desire to impress. Argggh! (Even now, as I write this, a part of me is hoping you’ll be impressed with my “humility”!)
What can be done? If I shift my focus to killing my self-absorption, the effort itself become an act of self-absorption! In C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, a senior demon advises a junior tempter on how to keep humans stuck in this endless cycle:
Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, “By jove! I’m being humble,” and almost immediately pride—pride at his own humility—will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt—and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don’t try this too long, for fear you awake his sense of humor and proportion, in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed.
Each time I write, that un-killable cur Ego sits in the corner whining for attention. I can never completely drive him away. But I can refuse to feed him.
My motives are still mixed, but at least the cur grows thinner.
So I check my spelling, hit Publish…
And then laugh and go to bed.
For further insights, read Romans 7:24-8:1
I just was sent this from a brother in Christ. It is so worth the time to watch it.
Economies should not always be measured by policies.The pandemic and war have affected the economics of most countries and are not as a result of policies of any party and be careful about “feelings”! If you’re talking about abortion, I understand the point. A corrupt leader who lives an ungodly life is wicked and will eventually turn the country into their own wicked path. Violence and hatred have become normalized because of Trump and his rhetoric. So I listened to most of this but I think that it’s misleading.
I agree that Trump is not the choice I would make if there were another. I respect your choice. God wants all mankind to choose. He will not stand in the way of anyones discions. I in no way wanted to cause conflict.
I just want to share my understanding of our Lord’s Word, the Bible.
1. Life begins at Conception. We all started there. Abortion is the killing of a life. Very sad to say in, my understanding, most abortions are commited because the parties had sex out of weddlock, which is adultery according to the Bible. We know our God is a merciful and loving God Who is willing to forgive ALL sin, if the person is willing to see their sin and repent of it. He just wants us to follow what He knows is best for us and the world around us.
Is woman rights saying if the woman does not want the baby she can abort it, meaning kill it? The Biden-Harris administration has made this right a cornerstone of its policy agenda.
Please help me understand, is this what you heard? For the past three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has made LGBTQ rights a cornerstone of its policy agenda. Among other efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has consistently sued states to block anti-trans laws and policies, including asking the Supreme Court to lift bans on medically-necessary health care for trans adolescents.
I have to stand with the party that stands closer to Gods’ Word. I respect your choice and forgive me again if I have crossed a line with sharing my understanding of our Lords’ Word.
I know according to Matthew 28:19 (KJV) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Matthew 28:20 (KJV) teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
My point is that although I totally agree with you on abortion and I think that the trans issue, though concerning, affects so few individuals that the risk of a trump presidency, with all his sins and those he had fomented, must be considered. He is very dangerous and sins are sins.
Got ya.
Legalizing sins in our nation is what concerns me.
Yes, it is very concerning.
Saw you text on your abuse. So sorry. I’m just so thankful you have reached out to Jesus. Blessings
Thank you. The abuse and the lack of my parent’s reaction to it led me to a very dark place and it wasn’t preaching that brought me to Christ, but rather unconditional love. I hope that we can talk some more. Thank you for listening.
Blessings to you and your family. My site is https://afreegift.us/
Trump wants a 6-8 week abortion ban which covers the sins of most women who seek an abortion which is in the first trimester. In essence, a vote for Trump is like a vote to legalize it up to 8 weeks anyway.
ha, so true! Like in “Wicked”
was I really seeking good
Or just seeking attention?
Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice-cold eye?
If that’s all good deeds are
Maybe that’s the reason why, No good deed goes unpunished
I appreciate your honesty! It is a daily, prayerful struggle. Carol baldwin
Indeed, Carol.
I got mixed feelings about this post… 😁🙏😶
;>)
I love your honesty and can only admit that I can relate to what you say. Even when we want to be selfless with our best of intentions… at one point the ego shines through. However, as long as good deeds are the result, it is not too bad.
For me it is mostly discipline and eagerness to get my blogging online and see what others think about what I have posted. I have two days a week I blog and even if one of those days I don’t feel like doing anything for some reason I push myself and do it anyway. Then when I have done it I pat myself so to say on the shoulder and I’m glad to see others like what I have written,
Yup! hard work being humble 😁
In honor of the late Mac Davis: oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.
;>)
Mitch, when I saw the picture I thought of a man fighting his human views vs Gods. I should hav read the whole article. opps. blow it again.
Hugs in Jesus.
Hugs back, Vince.
The Screwtape Letters is one of my most favorite books by C.S. Lewis. I read this book many moons ago (at least thirty years minimum). There are such memories of how we are messed up as humans. Boy that ego! Such an impactful book on my spiritual life. Thank you for sharing.
My privilege, San.
I choose life and always have done. I was pregnant at 16 and gave my firstborn up for adoption. That was the hardest decision of my life. I had my last some at 38 and did not do an amniocentesis.
My understanding is that we are to be as much like Christ as possible and Jesus said he came… “not to judge the world but to save it.” There will be judgment and I think we must try to guide people in a loving way toward Godly living. We won’t win souls by forcing our will on them. I know many women who have come to Christ after having an abortion and repentance is always what Jesus is looking for. Women’s rights are more than just abortion and life is life in the instances where a woman is in preeclampsia and dying if she does not end the pregnancy or other life-threatening situations then access to proper healthcare should be available in my mind. As a labour and delivery RN at a high-risk unit, we saw many women in distress. Anomalies such as when the baby has died in utero and Mom has sepsis are emergencies or the baby has developed without a brain. These things do happen and should be managed properly and without judgment.
I use my testimony to reach other women and girls who may be pregnant and looking for hope and answers.
Healthcare for everyone should be available not just to the rich. Trump and the GOP don’t want that similar to your preacher in your video. This is wrong. education similarly should be about truth, not falsehoods. History should teach about slavery and it did not benefit slaves. Donald Trump will use his position, should he win, to wield a sword of vengeance from day one. He is a narcissistic psychopath. Trust me and 27 forensic psychiatrists. Power will be like an aphrodisiac to Trump and it will be dangerous for more than just America.
I agree about abortion but there is much more at stake and in my humble opinion there are better ways to address that issue through education and outreach. The GOP tends to throw the baby out with the proverbial bathwater after the baby is born. That’s not Christian. Attacking migrants is not Christian. Lying about almost everything is not Christian.
I’ve got the boxed set of C.S. Lewis’s Signature Classics that includes “The Screwtape Letters,” which I’ve not yet read. But now I’m eager to! 🙂
It’s diabolically wise, Nancy. ;>)
I like your thoughts on this. How do we remain true to life we are, by neither succumbing to ego nor to the new ego created by fighting the old ego, as the CS Lewis quote suggests?
It is a fine line between expressing our gifts for self adulation and doing so to honor He Who gave the gifts to be expressed. While the struggle is real, maybe, just maybe, we should risk the puffed up heads and let He Who gave the gifts purify the motives in the process. Ugh! Help us Father!
Pingback: #JustAThought – Being Good or Doing Good? – Share Your Light
Nice! I hope you read mine too! Btw, I am new here, please visit my blog❤️
Pingback: Do You Have Mixed Motives? | Restored People Community