What spiritual challenges and temptations do you expect to face? Not the easy ones, the weaknesses you don't like to think about.
How do you want to respond to them?
How can you train for that response?
I'm not thinking about plotting out dialog. Jesus deprecated that. Explaining the hope that is in you isn't what I'm talking about either.
When I remember some of the things I have faced and try to come up with exercises to train my reactions to try to do better next time, two things come quickly to mind. Some of those old stories about what saints did don't sound quite so outlandish, and "Lead us not into temptation". I can only do so much.
My automatic responses are to steel against the wrong just committed - a negative rather than positive response of "Don't do that again." Some positive virtue-building is more usually recommended. Second, I look harder whether there is something about it in CS Lewis.
ReplyDeleteI figure if somebody gets my back up easily, I need to change to a more positive reaction. I don't know how to reduce irritation, but I can try to pray for them more often (and not the obvious "Straighten them out" prayers). If I have trouble when fresh oatmeal raisin cookies are lying around, maybe I need to prep for the test with a little regular self-denial.
ReplyDelete"Lead us not into temptation" and its follow-up "But deliver us from evil" are pleas for protection from external assaults. They are not about internal virtue-maintenance.
ReplyDelete