The First Part of the First Impression

"...That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity; by the practice of which we become united to the will of God; that all besides is indifferent and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end, and be swallowed up therein, by faith and charity.
"That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues..."

"...That, when he began his business, he said to God, with a filial trust in Him, 'O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."

-Brother Lawrence-


Lately I've come under fire from some people about drinking and/or the party scene. My mom, as a matter of fact, was talking to me about it this morning. She was telling me that a lot of people back home feel like I've really gone off the deep end. I don't know if that's people's impression of me, or if it is, what precisely has given them that idea (though I have a few thoughts as to what it was), but it made me stop and think for a few minutes. My first thoughts were somewhat defensive, in the line of "I used to party a whole lot more in high school." And then I realized that the point of what my mom was saying wasn't necessarily about volume of consumption, it was about appearance. When I was in high school it was pretty under-wraps, and not many people really knew about it, at least not in a public way. Now I guess, and this is in part due to the nature of my college, drinking and the party scene are a much more open activity. I know all you state school kids can't believe that its worse than your schools (and really, I don't know that it is) at Sewanee, but there is definitely a relaxed attitude about it. Partying is often done with RA's and Proctors, which is kind of cool, in some ways of looking at it. The point is, my mindset toward partying has become so much more relaxed than it was a few years ago that to me its weird to hear that people are remarking on it. So, after a few moments of defensiveness, I started to put myself back in the shoes of other people, and look at myself from their perspective. The truth is, I'm not really a big partier. True, there were a few times where I messed up early in the year, but for the most part, I'm the guy who takes care of other people (or goes camping, ha-ha).

The interesting thoughts that I started to have this morning, after reading "The Practice of the Presence of God" were "how do my typical activities fit into this philosophy [see quotes at beginning of article]?" I started to realize something, or rather, had an old thought pop back into my head. Sometimes we make such a big deal out of the "Big Three" sins of modern Christianity (Drinking, Drugs, and Lust) that when were around people who partake in those activities openly and we don't, we really begin to think of ourselves as "good people." We're not. We're depraved. You don't drink? Good. You're still a fucking worm in comparison with the standards of God. See, I think that I had started telling myself that since I don't really "party hard" and I take care of people, etc, that I'm doing okay. I'm not, really. Because even though I'm being a good steward in managing Drinking, Drugs, and Lust, I'm not doing too well being a representative of God in the small areas. Like prioritizing. I'm terrible about letting myself get distracted or pulled off when I need to study or do something. That's a sinful practice! We're all in constant depravity, and most especially in the ways that aren't apparent. It’s those quiet areas of bad that really get you.

My point is this: You don't drink, you don't use blow, you aren't addicted to porn. Great. Wonderful. Good on you. Now let's together get off our high horses and examine ourselves realistically. We need to stop condemning specific lifestyle choices and start to take on the "Mind of Christ." Our lifestyle, in its most basic sense, should be reflective of a sense of morality. Yeah, I submit this even to those friends of mine who aren't followers of Jesus. You should compare your life to some moral code too, be it that of Islam, or Zoroasterism. As Brother Lawrence said, we should be so immersed and in contact with our moral guide that we should reflect it in all thought, favour, word and deed. Ask a brother how he is doing taking on a mind of morality, and if he says "well," then trust that his life is reflective of what he needs to do. If there is something negative that you see, discuss it with him, but do not close him into your moral box. Even within specific religions there are different moral expressions, and it is my belief that God designates certain people to certain ways of life, according to His purposes.

There, now lets go together, forward in our quest to a conscientious brand of living.

-Spencer Pitman-