Why do so many Christians love their life in this world?

[Bookcat]

I agree that we can enjoy the things created by God but in the materialism that exists in this world, we must proceed with great caution.

Sure - there can be yes reasonable caution - and certainly one is to approach such in the Christian fashion…not a disordered one.

. I still persist in my personal belief that we ought not to love this world where evil dwells everywhere.

And that personal belief is not correct.

 

[jcrichton]

I think you misinterpret what I said,
I give Praise to Jesus for all the blessings I have,
I give what I can to anyone I believe deserves help,
My interpretation of who needs help most may differ from yours,
The other Day while walking around Vancouver a well dressed man was asking for money to buy subway,I ignored him , I saw a young man begging for money, he looked like a drug addict , I had lunch in a very average restaurant , a young lady was working to support herself and study to better herself, I Gave her $50.oo to help her,
I give what I can to whoever I feel deserves it ,
Yes I am Blessed, I appreciate what I have , I had worked 12 hour days you years ,
Now I share my blessing with whom I Chose ,I feel I am doing good, I seek no praise ,

Hi, Phil!

…yeah, perhaps I misunderstood your previous post… my intent was to place us in the Scriptural take… nothing should keep us from our relationship with God… not the good things in life nor the bad things; God must remain Above All; so we are called to “hate” (not allow attachments) life, which includes people and things.

…while it is true that we have the right to do as we please, as St. Paul tells us: ‘everything is permissible to me, but not everything edifies.’

…so we must enjoy/do things in God!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

Rosebud77:
I have recently been persecuted in a very real way for aspects of my faith, Hurting through and through right now. Bruised and battered

And no way will I live for the world. I enjoy the world greatly at my very limited and simple, frugal way, but God comes first.Hi, Rose!

…my prayers are with you!

I commend you for your Stand for Christ! …that’s exactly the Call of the Scriptural passage: nothing Above God!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

Wow, you are one gloomy fellow, eh?

Life is good and the world is filled with good things for Man to enjoy!

Hi!

…yeah… not!

…what I’m conveying is that nothing should be placed Above God; we are Called to “hate” (separate/reject) that which keeps/turns us from God; sometimes it would be things… yet, it could well be people… my older brother left the Church and attempted to convert Mom and me to his religious beliefs… there was a separation between him and us… the question was, would we follow God or his version of God?

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

Hi!

…is there one passage that says place God second, third, or out on left field?

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

I have been reading the *Imitation of Christ *as a devotional the past few weeks, and I must say some of the messages about attachment to worldly things and in seeking salvation through knowledge, of which the book speaks against, have really hit home with me with where I’ve been in my life recently. This, if to be of any value, must be read in accordance with the Church’s teachings. The world is not evil.

But it is possible to be too attached to it (the pleasures, the money, the job, the pride, the friends), to put it before Christ and Christian living, and I’m glad to have that reminder. Not that those things are intrinsically bad in themselves, but we cannot compromise our Christian values for them. I was tempted recently to tell a white lie in a job interview for a “tell me about a time…” question, not just stretch or sell myself a little, but to outright fabricate a scenario. Harmless, right? Just something to talk about… But that’s putting my career before being Christian. Imitation is actually what spoke to me and prevented me from doing that.

I digress. A helpful book, and while reading it I also recall Saint Augustine’s Confessions and wonder if, as a whole, we could use a little more asceticism in our lives in our consumerist world. That said, I’ll try and focus plucking the plank out of my own eye; to enjoy the world, but not compromise my relationship with Christ for it.

Hi!

Exactly!

Fellowship with Christ does not mean: ‘you did nothing wrong if you did not get caught!’

What we do we do in Christ!

What we fail to do in Christ we do against Christ and against ourselves!

Yes, life is good (or not so good) but it is not about life but about our Life in Christ!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Robert_Sock]

Hi, Robert!

…I hope you read through my posts–“hate” and “love” are compatible: “hate” that which keeps/separates us from God; Love God Above All and neighbor as self–one goes with the other!

Maran atha!

Angel

I have nothing against your post, nor do I have anything against any of the posts of others, but I deeply believe that “anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” I’m joyful and most optimistic about the Hereafter.

Whether people know it or not, I also deeply believe that the evils in this world keep all of us from experiencing God more fully.

 

[Bookcat]

I deeply believe that “anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” .

Amen!

Yes most certainly!

How is that to be understood?

Pope Benedict XVI explains:

"What the Lord says of himself here in this Christological parable is applied to us in two other verses: “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25).

I think that when we first hear this we do not like it. We would like to say to the Lord: “But what are you telling us, Lord? Must we even hate our life? Isn’t our life a gift of God? Haven’t we been created in his image and likeness? Shouldn’t we be grateful and glad that he has given us life?”. However, Jesus’ words have another meaning. Of course the Lord has given us life and we are grateful for this. Gratitude and joy are fundamental attitudes of Christian life. Yes, we can be happy because we know that each of our lives comes from God. It is not a chance without meaning. I am wanted and loved. When Jesus says we must hate our life he means quite the opposite."

~ Pope Benedict XVI

For the rest:

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/march/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100314_christuskirche.html

“* “To hate” one’s life* is a strong and paradoxical Semitic expression that clearly emphasizes the radical totality which must distinguish those who follow Christ and, out of love for him, put themselves at the service of their brethren. They lose their life and thus find it. There is no other way to experience the joy and the true fruitfulness of Love: the way of giving oneself, of self-giving, of losing oneself in order to find oneself.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090329_magliana_en.html Emp added

---

This is the *same semitic expression *used regarding ones father…mother …children…(see Luke 14:26 et al)…and we know rather well we are to in fact to love our Mother and Father and Children…

What we are to do - is Love God above all - follow Christ - and desire heaven and the Resurrection above the joys of life here that God gives us…

…as the Creed says we “look forward to the resurrection”.

Amen!

 

[patrick457]

I won’t join the debate (not my thing), but to drop my two cents, based on what I’ve seen so far, what this thread has convinced me is ‘evil’ is private interpretation of Scripture. So there.

 

[rcwitness]

I won’t join the debate (not my thing), but to drop my two cents, based on what I’ve seen so far, what this thread has convinced me is ‘evil’ is private interpretation of Scripture. So there.

Private interpretation does not guarantee false interpretation.

 

[jcrichton]

I have nothing against your post, nor do I have anything against any of the posts of others, but I deeply believe that “anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” I’m joyful and most optimistic about the Hereafter.

Whether people know it or not, I also deeply believe that the evils in this world keep all of us from experiencing God more fully.

Hi, Robert!

I think that I follow what you are getting at… but note that Jesus did not pray that the Father remove His Disciples from the world but that He protect them from the world…

So while evil (Satan, his minions and man’s openness to sin) does cause man to stumble, that is precisely what man has to overcome, in Christ:

4:13 There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.

(Philippians 4:13)
What Jesus Commands us to “hate” is all the attachments that this world weighs us down with… these attachments are both things and people.

The Believer is wise to understand that evil can hinder his/her relationship with God, but we must not be fooled into thinking that evil is the only hindrance that we have… our personal life’s choices can be as much or even of greater hindrance since we may equate them with “safe” or benign practices…

ie: I witness a seemingly devote Catholic Receiving Communion in an excellent expression of Faith… several days later, I witnessed that same deovte Catholic reeling from a child because the child was disquiet; the reaction was not that of Christ… and, since the family was not of Anglo-American origin, there could have been much more going on… regardless of the case, Receiving the Eucharist, though quite important, does not extend to making the House of God sterile and completely devoid of life signs. The piety of this particular Catholic may prove to be a huge hindrance to Salvation–if this attachment is not “hated” and renounced.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[patrick457]

Private interpretation does not guarantee false interpretation.

Okay, maybe ‘evil’ was too strong a word (darn, I’m falling into the same pitfall), but the difficulty with private interpretation - especially of unclear, ambiguous passages - as you most likely well know is that: how would you know if your interpretation is right or not?

 

[jcrichton]

Okay, maybe ‘evil’ was too strong a word (darn, I’m falling into the same pitfall), but the difficulty with private interpretation - especially of unclear, ambiguous passages - as you most likely well know is that: how would you know if your interpretation is right or not?

Hi, Patrick!

…well we have Scriptures that tells us:

3 Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. 4 There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

(Ephesians 4:3-6)

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. 9 As we said before, so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema. (Galatians 1:8-9)
…so, Knowing that the Church is the Pillar and Bulwark of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15), any interpretation that circumvents or differs from Apostolic Teaching (which includes the Magisterium of the Church) is flawed or incomplete.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

Hi, Deacon Jeff!

…even so, he must be engaged.

Some Revelations are made through veiled presentations (the Magi, the high priest’s prophecy about One Dying for the people, the Jews recognizing that only God has the power to Absolve sin, the transfer of the penalty of blasphemy from Yahweh God and His Name to the Holy Spirit…); I hope and pray that we engage him in the “love” that we purport to live, in Christ Jesus.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[TheAmazingGrace]

Have you ever been to a funeral? Look around and you can tell who has faith and who doesn’t. If someone thinks its the end of the world when their loved one dies and hysterically cries like its the end of the world. They have no faith in the Resurrection and faith in life after death.

Have you considered that maybe they’re just sad? Even Jesus wept when he found out Lazarus had died. I mean, I’m sure you’ll be having a ball when you lose the person you love most.

Use your brain dude.