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

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This might be a dumb or mute question but can’t we learn to watch a football game and have God at the center of our mind while doing it?

Or maybe a better way of saying it can’t we be loving God with our whole mind and watch a football game at the same time. Or in my case do the laundry, do the dishes, help my children with thier homework, play games with them…

I am thinking, would this have something to do with being a part of or being in this world but not of it? Not quite sure about the exact wording of the scripture.
 
simple_soul said:
This might be a dumb or mute question but can’t we learn to watch a football game and have God at the center of our mind while doing it?
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Can you have your entire conscious mind on God when deeply involved with football?

LOVE! ❤️
 
Robert_Sock said:
Can you have your entire conscious mind on God when deeply involved football?

LOVE! ❤️
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Honastly I have never really tried with football but I know that when I was younger I used to watch baseball while having a conversation with Him and then praying to Him to please miraculously help the team I was rooting for win and they did come back to win the World Series.🙂
 
simple_soul said:
Honastly I have never really tried with football but I know that when I was younger I used to watch baseball while having a conversation with Him and then praying to Him to please miraculously help the team I was rooting for win and they did come back to win the World Series.🙂
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“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.”
-1 John 2:15

LOVE! ❤️
 
Robert_Sock said:
I read it several times now, and I still do not understand the question. If you re-phrase it, I’ll be happy to give it another shot.

LOVE! ❤️
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I’ll try.

You asserted that if love of God is not in our immediate awareness (our conscious mind?) then it is not active - it is passive.

My question to you then was,
“So - if this love of God and neighbor influences everything we do - is it EVER outside of our immediate awareness?”

In other words…if something is so much a part of us that it is the basis of everything we do…is it ever inactive?

Does that rewording help?

Peace
James
 
Robert_Sock said:
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.”
-1 John 2:15

LOVE! ❤️
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So loving God and those whom He created and praying for them to come back against almost and seemingly impossible odds so that others can come to know and understand the power of praying to Him and how He can miraculously intervene against all odds is loving things of this world?
 
JRKH said:
I’ll try.

You asserted that if love of God is not in our immediate awareness (our conscious mind?) then it is not active - it is passive.

My question to you then was,
“So - if this love of God and neighbor influences everything we do - is it EVER outside of our immediate awareness?”

In other words…if something is so much a part of us that it is the basis of everything we do…is it ever inactive?

Does that rewording help?

Peace
James
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Yeah, I think I got you. Again, I think most within the Church would agree with you and say that it’s still active if not in the immediate awareness, and I would agree. But my point still stands, I think, that once God is out of your awareness, you’re not loving Him with all your mind and all your strength.

LOVE! ❤️
 
+JMJ+
Robert_Sock said:
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.”
-1 John 2:15

LOVE! ❤️
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Really now? So I could not even love my wife then?
 
Robert_Sock said:
Yeah, I think I got you. Again, I think most within the Church would agree with you and say that it’s still active if not in the immediate awareness, and I would agree. But my point still stands, I think, that once God is out of your awareness, you’re not loving Him with all your mind and all your strength.

LOVE! ❤️
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Fair enough…

Now let’s take a look at your thread title…

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

If I Love God as much as I can then I am not sinning.
No one can consciously think of God 24-7 - or even every waking moment.
Therefore - I am not sinning at those times when I am not consciously thinking of God…

See the logic?

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
Fair enough…

Now let’s take a look at your thread title…

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

If I Love God as much as I can then I am not sinning.
No one can consciously think of God 24-7 - or even every waking moment.
Therefore - I am not sinning at those times when I am not consciously thinking of God…

See the logic?

Peace
James
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All I’m seeing is that we are all sinners, which the Bible says we are.

LOVE! ❤️
 
Robert_Sock said:
All I’m seeing is that we are all sinners, which the Bible says we are.

LOVE! ❤️
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There is no argument in this…no one here will argue this point…we are indeed all sinners.

But the question you posed in this thread is much more specific - it deals with the manner of sin in a given situation…
That is what we are trying to address.

If you feel it is best to not watch football, or TV or to undertake other disciplines in order to draw closer to God - all fine and good…
Though I still strongly suggest you have a good spiritual adviser in this. This is basic…especially if you feel God is calling you to a particularly esthetic lifestyle for there are many pitfalls in this.

Peace
James
 
Great Catholic spiritual writers have taught that it is IMPOSSIBLE for one to THINK consciously of our Lord with Him on our mind for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – but we certainly can LOVE Him 24/7 with all our heart, mind, soul and strength: which is the much better thing for us to do, better than merely thinking about Him, that is. If we do EVERYTHING in our day with the intention of pleasing Him and with the intention of honoring Him and doing His holy Will, offering up aspirations when we can, then we are doing much better than merely THINKING about Him. Actively thinking about God does not make us a saint, but actively LOVING Him does. We can actively love Him when we are totally busy at work with ALL of our thoughts on our work – or while enjoying a sport in union with our Lord, with our heart close to his, offering up some ejaculations of thanksgiving, etc. to Him – and by the recreation recalling to our mind that it is He who gives us these INNOCENT times of enjoyment in life. By intending to do EVERYTHING (every thought, word, act) in our day for the love of Him and for His greater glory we please God very much, even without thinking about Him at every single instant. We must LOVE him in every instant, we aren’t displeasing God or sinning when our mind is occupied with other things provided we in our hearts are actively seeking to honor Him and do all for His greater glory. The fun and refreshment a person experiences in recreation does not necessarily separate or distance him from God – it can actually bring him closer to loving Him more – and more enthusiastically and gratefully, thus to the greater glory of God. Mr. X can be closer to God and can be loving Him MORE while having innocent fun at a football game with gratitude and love for Him in his heart then Mr. Y actually does in a Catholic chapel where he is actively thinking about Him, but with much coldness, pharisaic judgmental thoughts, and ingratitude in His heart.

EDIT:

Thinking about God is very good and very necessary, and we should think about Him a lot. But we needn’t feel we are being displeasing to God when we are not thinking about Him while we are loving Him and doing His holy Will. If a person thinks they need some innocent recreation, then God would not disapprove of this or find it sinful provided the recreation is not interfering with daily duties that need to get done.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Yeah, I think I got you. Again, I think most within the Church would agree with you and say that it’s still active if not in the immediate awareness, and I would agree. But my point still stands, I think, that once God is out of your awareness, you’re not loving Him with all your mind and all your strength.

LOVE! ❤️
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I don’t know if you are married and have children but I am sorry to say I would not like to be one of them. No leisure time for and with the family. Children not allowed to play with other children. No family holidays. No going to watch a movie. No going to watch any sporting events. No shopping in the malls etc etc!
 
+JMJ+

You know, I think we can all end this silliness with a dose of St. Thomas Aquinas, wherein he wrote that (obviously) one can sin by playing too much, yet one can also sin by playing too little: newadvent.org/summa/3168.htm
 
I’m still experiencing cognitive dissonance by what I’m hearing. The commandment seem so plain to me, and it sounds like something we all fall short of, but I never really hear Catholics talking about.

If we were living in exile from a fellow human who we loved dearly, we would probably rarely take our minds off of them, and we would live in constant sorrow, longing for the day we could be reunited. Yet God is commanding us to love Him even more!

Beware of worldly pleasures that distract us from this extremely deep love.

The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. These fruits are all we should be striving for, not worldly pleasures that come from the mundane, like sex and football. The warnings about enjoying worldly pleasures are alluded to throughout The Imitation of Christ, and I believe we should avoid them like the plague. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

LOVE! ❤️
 
Robert_Sock said:
I’m still experiencing cognitive dissonance by what I’m hearing. The commandment seem so plain to me, and it sounds like something we all fall short of, but I never really hear Catholics talking about.

If we were living in exile from a fellow human who we loved dearly, we would probably rarely take our minds off of them, and we would live in constant sorrow, longing for the day we could be reunited. Yet God is commanding us to love Him even more!

Beware of worldly pleasures that distract us from this extremely deep love.

The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. These fruits are all we should be striving for, not worldly pleasures that come from the mundane, like sex and football. The warnings about enjoying worldly pleasures are alluded to throughout The Imitation of Christ, and I believe we should avoid them like the plague. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

LOVE! ❤️
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You did not tell us if you are married and have children.
If you are/do then based on your posts I assume they are confined to the house and not allowed to socialise with anyone or have fun of any kind.

Is it your contention that Christ and his Church teaches we are not allowed leisure time or allowed to have fun? That should be an easy yes or no.
 
thistle said:
You did not tell us if you are married and have children.
If you are/do then based on your posts I assume they are confined to the house and not allowed to socialise with anyone or have fun of any kind.
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No, I was never married, but I live in almost complete solitude. I had a very prestigious career as a research psychologist, but I traded it all to devout myself more fully to God.

Things like raising a family, or studying to promote the welfare of society, are likely within the will of God and therefore are righteous. Same with many people who have friends and socialize. But we should all strive to love God more and more each day. Discerning God’s will for us is paramount, and doing His will is in itself a demonstration of our love.

I think of our religion as the art of making wise trades, like trading our pride for humility, and trading the cheap pleasure and excitement of worldly things, like football, in order to love God with all our mind and all our strength.

LOVE! ❤️
 
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