by any means

St John Cassian talks to us today about guarding against any way by which our enemy might try to gain access to our lives, in A Year with the Church Father. He says that if the enemy has gained access to our lives through one sin, like gluttony, for instance, then how can we be sure that we won't fall in some other area, like in lust or pride?

C.S. Lewis points out that there are certain sins that seem to find certain people. For instance, Lewis points out that the sin of gambling (not all gambling is sinful, of course, but only that which causes a serious problem in the life of the person, because of placing hope in the outcome of the gamble, and becoming addicted so that they lose quality of life to the practice) is not something he himself struggles with. I don't either. Gluttony seems to bother some people more than others, and sloth seems to target certain individuals. So taking these two bits of wisdom together, I don't think we're supposed to think that if we sin in one way, we're going to find ourselves sinning in every way possible.

But I think the take-away message from St John today is that we need to be on guard against every little passage through which the enemy might try to enter our lives. Because, as St John points out, what does it matter if the enemy comes over the wall, or through a secret, tiny passage? The point is that we need to keep him out altogether.

So let's pray that God will show us both the passages in our lives that are susceptible to attack, and to help us to learn how to close them so the enemy can't gain access.

God, thank You for showing us how to keep the enemy out. Please help us as we fight that good fight.