"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
Jude 1:17-21
What struck me about this today was the fact that when we do these things, we separate ourselves... from the Spirit, from the love of God, from other people, and from ourselves in a lot of ways. We become what feels like a whole other person from the one that loves and believes. We start caring about feelings and senses more than we care about people and life and God. It's exactly like a drug addiction, and a lot more common. We let ourselves get caught up in whatever emotion we are riding at the moment... let that move us and control us rather than us controlling it. And we single-mindedly go after more of that feeling, not caring in the moment who we hurt or what the further consequences are, because we think that in that moment the feeling matters more than all the rest of it. That the pursuit of that emotional high, whatever it is, is more important than everything else.
Today, whatever emotion is ruling our lives, let's recognize it and separate ourselves from *it* rather than separating ourselves from God. It isn't easy, by definition... it's something that we've tried to substitute for reality. It is our favorite escape or our fantasy, whether it is lust or hatred or self-righteousness, or hunger for power, numbness to try to block out other things... so many ways that we can separate ourselves. But despite the challenge, let's gather up all of our separateness and join it back together with the rest of us that wants to put God before self. Let's push through our separation and start making positive connections with the Spirit, with God, and with other people. Let's keep ourselves in the Love of God, looking for mercy and eternal life, rather than chasing the ephemeral emotion of the moment, and separating ourselves from what really matters.
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
Jude 1:17-21
What struck me about this today was the fact that when we do these things, we separate ourselves... from the Spirit, from the love of God, from other people, and from ourselves in a lot of ways. We become what feels like a whole other person from the one that loves and believes. We start caring about feelings and senses more than we care about people and life and God. It's exactly like a drug addiction, and a lot more common. We let ourselves get caught up in whatever emotion we are riding at the moment... let that move us and control us rather than us controlling it. And we single-mindedly go after more of that feeling, not caring in the moment who we hurt or what the further consequences are, because we think that in that moment the feeling matters more than all the rest of it. That the pursuit of that emotional high, whatever it is, is more important than everything else.
Today, whatever emotion is ruling our lives, let's recognize it and separate ourselves from *it* rather than separating ourselves from God. It isn't easy, by definition... it's something that we've tried to substitute for reality. It is our favorite escape or our fantasy, whether it is lust or hatred or self-righteousness, or hunger for power, numbness to try to block out other things... so many ways that we can separate ourselves. But despite the challenge, let's gather up all of our separateness and join it back together with the rest of us that wants to put God before self. Let's push through our separation and start making positive connections with the Spirit, with God, and with other people. Let's keep ourselves in the Love of God, looking for mercy and eternal life, rather than chasing the ephemeral emotion of the moment, and separating ourselves from what really matters.
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