In a cartoon, the patient said to the psychiatrist: "Do I have to do my own thing? Do I have to do what feels good?" Living for self and pleasure gets old.
We like this kind of life at first, but after a while we suspect we're destroying ourselves and wasting our lives. Jesus said as much: "Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. What profit does he show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process?" (Lk 9:24-25)
Those who live to do their own thing are to be pitied. They have traded their birthright for trifles (see Gn 25:31ff), and have given up life and love for a shadow of human existence. The only way to escape slavery to self, the emptiness of pleasure-seeking, and the boredom of doing your own thing is to love Jesus with all your heart.
Only Christ's love makes life worth living, gives meaning to everyday existence, and provides sure hope for the future. What joy there is in not being enslaved to self! What freedom is to be found in not reducing life to mere pleasure-seeking! What sweetness in carrying the daily cross, for Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden light! (Mt 11:30)
| PRAYER: | Father, I accept the power of the cross and reject the futility of doing my own thing. |
| PROMISE: | "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him." –Dt 30:19-20 |
| PRAISE: | Sts. Cyril and Methodius opened up several nationalities to the good news with their missionary zeal. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College