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How to Sin Less to be Sinless
By Phil/Kords | Published | No Comments
Roman Catholics attend mass every Sunday. Some of us are present mentally and physically. Although we are physically present, there are still mentally absent ones. One cannot prove this unless you cross-check with the person. We lie to others, but we should not lie to ourselves.
Unfortunately, I am among those people who may or may not pay attention. If you want to get closer to Christ, paying attention at every mass is always beneficial. God speaks to us directly and indirectly.
Mathew Chapter 18:20, Jesus says, “For wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I, in their midst.” The least we can do is believe.
I haven’t learnt things only from homilies by Fathers in Church. Some things I have learned in my journey towards Christ.
To understand what God says, we must pay attention to the Gospel the priest reads before his sermon. In most cases, it is always related and spoken in the context of the Bible verses.
I don’t remember what the sermon exactly was, but I do remember what was said as I have carried with me throughout my life.
Why are people reluctant to turn away from sin?
The homily goes like this, “Back in the old days, there was a king who went hunting in the forest all alone with no guards. A band of robbers also lurk in the forest whose presence is unknown to the king. They speak among themselves after noticing the king alone that it is their opportunity to loot him and become rich.
The leader of the robbers pounced upon the king and demanded to give them all his possessions. The king willingly surrenders all of his jewellery and possessions. But, he does not stop there, “I have more gold and silver in my palace than I have here. I can give you my daughter’s hand in marriage and you can rule all of my kingdom and live a lavish life. All you have to do is come with me.” The king extends his hands for his response.
The leader of the robber is delighted at this offer. For a moment, he was lost in the comfortable picture the king presented. It was not long before he turned to his fellow robbers, a brutal truth hit like a brick dropping on his head.
If he accepts the king’s proposal, this would mean he will have to let go of all his bad habits- no drinking, no smoking, no drugs, no bad company and all. As a robber, he enjoyed the comfort zone his robber life provided. He was not prepared to let go of his robber life. So, he returns the king’s possession and says that he does not want to live a kingly life and goes back to his life as a robber along with his friends.”
Reflection:
What the robber conveniently forgot, the life of comfort he would get. He could get nice clothes, good food and a huge roof above his head. He would have a loving wife and be financially, emotionally, mentally and physically secure for life. In other words, he would be blessed with all the good things in life if he chose of letting go of his past sinful life. He was unprepared and unwilling to let go of his comfort zone.
We are so comfortable with sinning that we forget how un-sinning benefits us. Un-sinning is hard, it is difficult and mentally challenging but not impossible.
What our goal should be is to sin less to be sinless. It must be our focus.
To sin less we need a lot of self-observation, the willingness to come closer to Christ. God was never far away from us. He is always close to us and speaks to us through the Bible and various people around us. It is we who are far from him.
Image God standing at one point calling to us. We are 5 km away, unable to hear him. Prayer brings us closer cutting short this distance. We get close enough to hear what he says. It happens now because of our eagerness to be closer to God, but God’s willingness to be with us. The distance reduces because of His desire for us to come closer to him.
He constantly talks to us in various ways our sins do not allow us to decipher the meaning.
Matthew 13:14 Jesus says, “Hearing, you shall hear, but not understand; and seeing, you shall see, but not perceive.” It is we who have gone far away from God and not the other way around. Constant sinning clouds our eyes, ears and heart.
Christianity is not Religion. It is a relationship with God.
God does not seek the sinless. He seeks the sinners to be sin-less to be sinless. It is a struggle indeed.
It is difficult for me. Self-observation helps a great deal. If you know what sins you are committing, it is much easier to sin less. Jesus will always help you with self-observation. The desire to sin less should come from within. You cannot expect Jesus to hold your hands against your will. If God has given you the free will to sin then your free will should decide to un-sin or ‘sin less’.
The willingness should come from within, extend your hands to Jesus saying, “I need you, Jesus, please come to me,” and Jesus will reply, “I never left!”. Despite coming to Jesus, you will still sin. But, that’s not the idea. The idea is to commit less sin and self-observe the areas where you are sinning and gradually turn away from it.
Praise you Jesus, Thank you, Jesus.
Prayer:
By the Precious Blood of I pray that the person reading this blog post be blessed. May your hand be above them to protect them from all evil, harm and illness. Help the poor, feed the hungry and bring peace to all of mankind. Amen.
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