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Scripture
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
*Galatians 5.16-18 (NRSV)
Wisdom Story
A distressed, young monk went to the Abbot, only weeks after entering the monastery. "Father," he said, "before I came here, I was at peace. But, now, I feel like I have two beasts warring inside me."
The Abbot informed the young man that such an initial awakening to intensifying of inner struggle is common for those who dedicate themselves to the spiritual life.
The Abbot, then, told him to describe the beasts. "One," he replied, "pulls me toward things like envy, rage, lust, impatience, criticism of others, laziness in spiritual devotions, and other like things." He continued, "The second pulls me toward loving thoughts, patience, kindness, gratitude for superior qualities of my brothers, diligence in my devotions, and like things."
The Abbot asked him, "How may I help?" The monk spoke, "Father, please help me know which of these two beasts shall win over me." Thereupon, the Abbot spoke, "My son, even as the body is strengthened by food or weakened by lack of the same, so it is with the passions. The passions for good or evil are within us all. Some, however, nourish the passions inclining the soul toward evil, while others nourish the passions inclining the soul toward good. The passions you nourish shall grow stronger, even to the point of indomitable strength; the passions you neglect shall grow weaker, even to the point of final death. What you feed will gain strength; what you do not feed will diminish in power."
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Comments
Spiritual practice awakens the inner conflict, the unconscious contradictions within, that lie mostly dormant within us. Thus, while we might get an initial high from taking seriously the spiritual journey, spiritual practice lifts the veil concealing the conflicting passions in us and that have been silently ruling our affections and actions.
This waking up to spirituality is waking up to the good and evil within us. The bad news is this being awakened is somewhat painful to awfully painful, and many persons refuse the spiritual awakening for knowing such will lead to being confronted with the inner contradictions and hypocrisies dominating the lives of unawakened living.
Yet, we cannot grow in awareness without being aware of both the dark and the light. If the spiritual journey is to be personal and not impersonal, our being confronted with the inner passions must be a daring and graceful look into our personal demons and angels: passionate energies directed toward harm or edification.
Spiritual practice, then, is means of nourishing the passions of the Spirit. Through faithfulness to our practices, we find the passions of harm declining and the passions of edification increasing. The inner conflict decreases; inner harmony grows. We are growing one, while impoverishing the other.
This is a spiritually organic process. And the greatest failure of the church may be not applying this spiritual process well enough. We have urged living of a life of true holiness, without teaching the practices adequate to nourish that life. Then, rather than true holiness, which is beautiful and graceful, we find so many in religion with an ugly and graceless self-righteousness. The only way to a beautiful and graceful holiness is the enactment of spiritual means of grace, whereby we participate with Grace~which is God~, in increasing the good within us and decreasing all else.
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