Moderation

I am reading a book by the acclaimed author of "The Alchemist" Paulo Coelho. It is called "La Quinta Montana" and within he describes the life of the prophet Elias, whose name in English is Elijah. Coelho fascinates me with his ability to make the biblical story to come alive, to describe what it must have been like for the young Elijah to confront the beautiful Jezabel, who undermined the Christian foundations of Israel through her marriage to the king. One particular point Coelho vivifies is that of Elias' mentality. He illustrates that Elias must have realized that he was called to a higher role than those around him, and that fulfilling his role as a prophet would ultimately bring him great joy. But in the short-term he observed his contemporaries "traveling the seas" and "making love to random women" and experiencing through this a great pleasure. Elias knew that this pleasure was short-term, and yet he yearned for the simple life outside that of a prophet. I think that is our way so often, we settle for something, and then God shows us there is so much more that He has in the plan for us, and it is in those moments that we either balk or flourish. Yet flourishing usually does not mean following an easy road. The easy road is looking only to our own, personal, more short-term goals and not opening our minds and hearts to the will of God in our lives. This is the harder road.

Think about any sinful practice. C.S. Lewis makes the point that though the one who does not partake in the practice may be shamed by his peers, he ultimately chooses the more difficult road. It is easy to give in to sin, and so in resisting we grow stronger, if we always give in, we build no moral character nor resolve for future decisions. Seeing that we may be missing out on some level of pleasure in the practice, as Elias surely did, does not make it any easier for us to resist. But this is the road to which we are called. It is okay to acknowledge that some sinful practice, or even a worldly indulgence that is not necessarily sinful, would bring us pleasure, but we must recognize what that pleasure may do to us both physically and spiritually. Then in the end, we must remember who we are choosing for. And so I challenge myself and all of you; choose wisely.

TM