When âIllusory Delightsâ Call Your Name
Sometimes we just want a little satisfaction, donât we? A touch of comfort, something that takes the edge off, a moment where we feel filled. But, the real question is: what actually meets us at the deeper level?
Paul hints at this in his letter to the Corinthians:
âYou say, âI have the right to do anything,â but not everything is beneficial. âI have the right to do anythingââbut not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.â (1 Corinthians 10:23â24)
Thereâs an even higher call woven through Scripture: to seek Godâs will and pursue it with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.
And yet, weâre often tempted to meet our own needs firstâand fast. We lean on our own strategies, or we look to others to fill the gaps. At first, that urge can feel almost noble or necessary. But Ignatius of Loyola, writing in the 15th century, named these moments for what they are: âillusory delights.â
Theyâre the offerings that shimmer just enough to catch...
Who Are You â Really?
At different points in our lives we are confronted with different forms of the same question â
âWho are you?â
Often the question comes as a challenge to our competence. We are tempted to define ourselves by what we are able to do and/or how well we can do it.
Sometimes we are enticed to delineate our lives in terms how well regarded, received or "important" we are. The eyes and approval of others become our measuring stick.
Alternatively, we may be incited to understand ourselves and portray ourselves in terms of power â how much (or who) we can gain and control for our own purposes.
These three false measurements of identity are common to all of us. Different ones will be weighted in different ways, nuanced with different language and tailored to fit/attack our specific personalities and susceptibilities. However, these kinds of temptations are bait for the traps of pride or self-condemnation for all of us.Â
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Which temptation bites more deeply into your soul, competence, appr...
Is God Really "For" Us?
Our intentions and motives donât always align with our actions. Sometimes our intentions are better than our actions. Many people intend to pray more than they actually do, or maybe they intend to study more hours than they actually log, or they intend to be nicer to their spouse than they actually are. In these cases people hope to be judged according to their intentions rather than their actions.
On the other hand, sometimes our intentions are worse than our actions. We may make judgments against others in our heart, but not ever communicate those judgments or do anything about them. We may judge or condemn or try to manipulate people, but hide our true intentions so that they may go undetected. In these situations we hope to only be judged by our actions, not our sinister intentions.
What about Godâs intentions â can we clearly discern them? Not always. Godâs intentions are to advance His Kingdom so that more and more people will know Him and experience His love, healing and whole...
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