Thursday, September 21, 2017

falling on our own sword


St John Cassian talks to us today about vanity in A Year with the Church Fathers. He tells us that being proud of our accomplishments, in a "vainglorious" way, is one of the hardest sins to conquer, because as soon as we overcome it, we are tempted to be proud of our victory.

He reminds us not to "fall on our own weapon". Since our enemy is unable to defeat us in an honest way, he resorts to hurting us with our own weapons.

To stay on guard against this, we should keep Paul in mind. Paul wanted to be free from the "thorn in his flesh", which he asked God to take away three times. But God said His grace was sufficient for Paul.

His grace is sufficient for you and me, too. And it prevents us from getting to impressed with our own holiness.

God, thanks for using little thorns to protect us from our own swords.

No comments: