Do we sin when not loving God as much as we can?

[Robert_Sock]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

 

[thistle]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

If you think people sin by watching a game then you have real problems.

 

[Robert_Sock]

If you think people sin by watching a game then you have real problems.

So, how do you interpret the passage of scripture? I interpret it literally, and I believe this is why we are all guilty of sin. Too often, we pick and choose what passages of scripture we want to focus on. If we could only know what it is that we are missing when we do not love God with all our strength. We should all be aware of what we are worshiping at any point in time.

LOVE!

 

[JRKH]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

In the sense that we normally think if sin - the answer to your question is “No” you are not sinning when you do not Love God as much as you can. If for no other reason than the fact that what we “can” (are able to) do changes throughout our life. We just have to keep on trying our best.

Now to dige a bit deeper…
I think it useful to start by looking at a couple of the Greek and Hebrew words most often translated as “sin”…
Chata’ (Hebrew)
to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness
Hamartano, (Greek)
To be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor; to do or go wrong; to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin
(Definitions from Strongs concordance)
We can see by this that “sin” can have a broader connotation than simply acting contrary to God’s Law. If we are on the wrong path, missing the mark etc - then certainly we are, in a sense, sinning - that is, we are headed in the wrong direction.
Perhaps this is the sort of thing that you are feeling and are worried about.

If so - then I would suggest you think of this matter differently.
Your concern is not so much that you don’t love God as much as you can - but simply that you desire to become more perfected in your Love for Him. This is a good thing and something we are called to do.
What we must recognize in this is that we are talking about growth…Growth in Love…Agape…and this takes time.
Like the person who seeks to run a marathon, or lose x number of pounds it takes time, discipline, determination, commitment and an realization that we will stumble (repeatedly) as we struggle toward the goal.
BUT - -
So long as we are focused on the goal…we are not on the wrong path…we have not missed the mark…we have not gone wrong…we have nor forfeited anything…so that when we stumble, we pick ourselves up, apologize to God and get back on track…

Hope this helps a little

Peace
James

 

[meltzerboy]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

What does watching a football game have to do with not loving G-d as much as we can? Unless you mean watching a game instead of going to Mass.

 

[Robert_Sock]

What does watching a football game have to do with not loving G-d as much as we can? Unless you mean watching a game instead of going to Mass.

Are we loving God with all our mind and all our strength when we are watching football?

LOVE!

 

[wllmjoseph]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

I don’t believe that we sin in watching a football game. I do it is a sin when an individual chooses not to go to Mass because they would prefer to watch football games on Sunday.
I have always be drawn to the scripture where Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment. He replies “The greatest commandment is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” He goes onto say “the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
I don’t believe that God expects us to be focused on Him and Him alone for every waking moment of our life. In the Gospel of Mark 12:17 Jesus is asked if it is right to pay the imperial tax to which Jesus replies “Repay to Cesar what belongs to cesar and to God what belongs to God”. Our life belongs to God. If God is the focus in our life enjoying a football game or a social event is not going to change that.

 

[JRKH]

Are we loving God with all our mind and all our strength when we are watching football?

LOVE!

If you curl up with your loving spouse to watch something you both enjoy very much - are you loving your spouse with all your mind and strength?
If you curl up with your spouse to watch something SHE really enjoys (even if you don’t) and you do it BECAUSE you love her…are you loving her with your whole mind and strength?
If she curls up with you to watch football - even though she is not crazy about it…is she loving you with all her strength?

What do you think?

Peace
James

 

[Robert_Sock]

If you curl up with your loving spouse to watch something you both enjoy very much - are you loving your spouse with all your mind and strength?
If you curl up with your spouse to watch something SHE really enjoys (even if you don’t) and you do it BECAUSE you love her…are you loving her with your whole mind and strength?
If she curls up with you to watch football - even though she is not crazy about it…is she loving you with all her strength?

What do you think?

Peace
James

It depends on what you think love is. I would say that once your mind is not on your wife, you are not loving her with all your might.

To choose the ‘better portion,’ we need to be actively receptive to God as much as humanly possible. We all fall short in this, and therefore we are all sinners.

LOVE!

 

[Sarcelle]

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

You might want to ask a priest about this. Listen to what he says.

 

[nuntym]

+JMJ+

Mark 12:30 RSV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

I feel that I’m sinning when ever I fall short of this commandment of Christ, such as when I used to watch a football game.

LOVE!

Once for all, then, a short precept is given thee: Love, and do what thou wilt.

St. Augustine

It depends on what you think love is. I would say that once your mind is not on your wife, you are not loving her with all your might.

Then you are setting yourself for disappointment and lack of joy and peace, and thus ultimately not love. Let me prove this to you.

The fruits of charity (right love) are joy, peace, and mercy (CCC 1829). IF you think that “once your mind is not on your wife, you are not loving her with all your might”, then you realize that there are times your wife was not foremost in your mind, does not that rob you of joy? And realizing this, you worry about the times you will forget her again, no matter how momentarily; wouldn’t this rob you of your peace? And is all this being merciful to yourself, and even to your wife when she senses something wrong with you?

You are not an angel that can always think of your wife, nor God, 24/7. You are only human, and to think you can do more than humanly possible is pride: remember that the words human and humility come from the same Latin word, humus, meaning dirt.

You might want to ask a priest about this. Listen to what he says.

I strongly agree.

 

[iru]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_maiorem_Dei_gloriam

The full phrase attributed to St. Ignatius is Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem or “for the greater glory of God and salvation of man.” It is a summary of the idea that any work that is not evil, even one that would normally be considered inconsequential to the spiritual life, can be spiritually meritorious if it is performed in order to give glory to God.[1]

 

[Vianneyizer]

To the OP: I am afraid for you, dearly beloved. It sounds as if you have the wrong idea completely about what is the love of God and how one goes about aspiring to imitate this love. It sounds to me, though I do not presume to know your heart, that you are entirely fixated on the flesh while being completely blind to the spiritual but at the same time being convinced, quite erroneously, that you are in fact the one who is seeing things spiritually. My dear friend, the spirit of God walks in charity and charity gives grace and grace forgives and forgiveness is beautiful for those who have incured no guilt in the hearts of those that love them. For you, yes, to watch a football game is sinful. For me, I will do whatever best serves my wife and children as they are my vocational duty. For others, perhaps the good God wills that they clear their weary mind by relaxing in front of some mindless and HARMLESS entertainment. But again, for you, most everything is a sin quite possibly. But this is no boast for you as it was for the apostles, for I suspect that instead of doing the work of God you work primarily on bettering your own self. Though I know nothing really and lay no charge on you. Be well my beloved, and remember The Rule of St. Albert teaches us that common sense is the compass for all virtue. I do hope you will try using yours again soon.

May the Holy Spirit guide you in all truth -

Zachary

 

[GLam8833]

Can I try to answer your Question Robert?

The crucial idea that that commandment is trying
to bring out is that LOVE should be the “air”
we breathe. just like an ancient deep sea diver
who is vitally dependent on the oxygen line feeding
his diving suit with needed air.

Another concept for you’s to chew on,
it’s like smoking, when we PRAY, we “draw”
on the rarified air of heaven, which is pure LOVE,
and infused by that whiff… we “see” the world in a
different light! And WE CAN’T WAIT for the next
chance to get another “hit” of heaven!

 

[JRKH]

It depends on what you think love is. I would say that once your mind is not on your wife, you are not loving her with all your might.

I disagree with your description and as another has said, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
I was married for twenty years to the most wonderful woman in the world. She was my heart and my life. Yet I can tell you that, while everything I did was with and for her, I did not have “my mind on her” every waking moment of the day. Yet I did (and do) love her with all my might.
Constantly thinking of someone is not love - that is obsession and that is dangerous - not healthy.
Love is having someone constantly in your heart, not constantly on your mind.

[quoteTo choose the ‘better portion,’ we need to be actively receptive to God as much as humanly possible. We all fall short in this, and therefore we are all sinners.
[/QUOTE]
I will not disagree that we all fall short of loving God as much as He deserves…but growing in that love is called sanctification - and that is not sinning.

I agree with the other poster who suggest you speak with your priest on this matter.

Peace
James

 

[thistle]

Are we loving God with all our mind and all our strength when we are watching football?

LOVE!

So you think everyone should shut themselves off from the world, sit in a cave and pray non-stop??
You need help.

 

[Robert_Sock]

So you think everyone should shut themselves off from the world, sit in a cave and pray non-stop??
You need help.

You sound annoyed at me. Why?

LOVE!

 

[Robert_Sock]

Why would Christ state such a vivid commandment if it was not to be taken at face value?

Regardless of what a priest may say about whether or not it’s a sin, I’m going to follow what is in my heart and try to follow the commandment as much as I can. I’m already living in almost complete solitude, and I feel God is calling me to come closer.

LOVE!

 

[JRKH]

Why would Christ state such a vivid commandment if it was not to be taken at face value?

Regardless of what a priest may say about whether or not it’s a sin, I’m going to follow what is in my heart and try to follow the commandment as much as I can. I’m already living in almost complete solitude, and I feel God is calling me to come closer.

LOVE!

I’m curious then…why ask the question?

Jesus did tell us to love God with all our strength…He also told us to “tell it to the Church” and to “Listen to the Church” (Mt 18:15-18).
Your comment above about ignoring the advice of your priest stands in opposition to Christ’s command in Mt 18.

Do you think it a good idea to try to obey Christ in one respect by dis-obeying him in another?

Peace
James

 

[Robert_Sock]

I’m curious then…why ask the question?

Jesus did tell us to love God with all our strength…He also told us to “tell it to the Church” and to “Listen to the Church” (Mt 18:15-18).
Your comment above about ignoring the advice of your priest stands in opposition to Christ’s command in Mt 18.

Do you think it a good idea to try to obey Christ in one respect by dis-obeying him in another?

Peace
James

I asked the question to see if there was any consensus as to what this passage of scripture is saying.

How am I disobeying the Church by choosing to try and love God with all my mind and strength?

LOVE!