{"id":6502,"date":"2020-06-20T15:29:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-20T05:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=6502"},"modified":"2020-06-20T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T05:29:49","slug":"put-off-worldly-lust-put-on-spiritual-nourishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/put-off-worldly-lust-put-on-spiritual-nourishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Put off Worldly Lust, Put on Spiritual Nourishment"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The New Man Part 2: Put off Worldly Lust, Put on Spiritual Nourishment <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ereeny Mikhail<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I want you\nto think to a time you bought your favourite treat. A box of Favourites\nchocolates. A dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts. A container of cookies. You bought\nit at the end of the week after you\u2019ve spent the week eating healthy and\nexercising. You tell yourself I will only have one<\/em>. Then you have one,\nenjoy it and carry on with your day. But then you see the rest of the treats\nsitting there…you eye it\u2026think about it\u2026then you have one more. And once you\nstart, you can\u2019t stop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you\nfeel after it? Guilty? Angry with yourself? Upset? Or maybe you feel happy?\nJoyful? Satisfied?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our initial\naim is self-control but when the temptation presents itself, we often act on\nimpulse, desire and lust. You may ask yourself; why don\u2019t I have self-control?\nWhy are others able to control themselves with certain things while I cannot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me\nreassure you, there is an explanation to all this. There are different parts to\nthe brain which control for these responses. The frontal lobe, specifically the\nprefrontal cortex, controls for resisting temptation. It is actually\nresponsible for something described by scientists as \u201cexecutive function\u201d. In\nsimpler terms, \u201cexecutive function\u201d refers to judgment\/decision making, focusing,\nplanning, coordinating, social control and emotional control. Individuals who\nhave less activity in this part of the brain may struggle with impulse control\nproblems, lack of self-control, trouble learning from past experiences amongst\nothers. Of course, each individual is affected differently depending on the\nlevel of activity. There are multiple other sectors of the brain which\nultimately play a role in our fleshly lusts such as the limbic system which\nsupports different functions including our emotions. Our hormones are also responsible\nfor feelings of joy and happiness which results in people seeking certain\nfleshly lusts. Essentially, multiple factors play a role in temptation. These all\ninteract in ways that we still do not fully understand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that\nmean we give up? When my brain is wired like this, is there a point? If my\nbrain tells me to fulfil the lusts of my body, should I do it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

St Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:20-24:<\/strong> \u201cBut you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness<\/em>.\u201d He specifically says to \u2018be renewed in the spirit of your mind.\u2019 St Jerome<\/strong> reflects on this and says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not being renewed in our thinking process apart from the renewal of our spirits. Nor are we renewed in our spirits without thinking.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We can only renew our spirits when we renew our mind and vice versa. How can we renew our mind if we are wired as such? Again, let me reassure you, the mind controls the brain, which is the single most malleable organ in the entire body. As it says in 2 Timothy 1:7<\/strong>, \u201cFor God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.\u201d <\/em>God has given us a sound mind which we can train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am\nreminded of the story of the World War II veteran, Louis Zamperini, who later\nbecame a Christian evangelist. His biography \u201cUnbroken: A World War II Story of\nSurvival, Resilience, and Redemption,\u201d is the exact example of the flexibility\nof the mind. At the beginning of his story, he and two others survive a plane\ncrash which leaves them stranded at sea for 47 days. Zamperini and one other\nplane crash survivor, Phil, live through the extreme circumstances. The third\nplane crash survivor, Mac, on the other hand, who does not believe he will\nsurvive, is the one that dies. All three individuals were put under the\nhorrible circumstances with the same supplies. However, Mac dies because he\nbelieved he would die. After the 47 days, they are caught by the Japanese and\nbecome prisoners of war. They are faced with extremely harsh and violent\nconditions but still continue to survive. Zamperini, specifically, is violently\ntargeted by the Japanese corporal, Mutsuhiro Watanabe. Watanabe often hurt Zamperini,\nleaving him weak and hungry. On a day, when Zamperini\u2019s body was not able to\ncontinue working at the camp, Watanabe punishes him by telling him to carry a\nheavy beam above his head. Watanabe asks the guard to shoot Zamperini if he\ndrops it. Zamperini, put his mind to it, lifts the beam and held the beam above\nhis head for an impossible 37 minutes. Through his weakness, he controlled his\nmind to believe he could do it and he did. If the mind is focused on something,\nit can achieve it. No matter the circumstance, no matter the temptation, no\nmatter the spiritual warfare, the \u2018sound mind\u2019 Christ has given us can do\nanything. Thus, we must exercise our mind to overcome our fleshly lusts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\nmentioned, both the mind and the spirit work hand in hand, not one before the\nother. St Paul in Galatians 5:16-17<\/strong> tells us, \u201cWalk in the spirit,\nand you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the\nSpirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one\nanother, so that you do not do the things that you wish.<\/em>\u201d The mind can be\ntrained by \u2018walk[ing] in the spirit\u2019. And, if we train our mind, then our\nspirit is also lifted. By doing this, we overcome the lusts of the flesh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the first hurdle to train our mind and spirit, should really be answering the almighty; WHY? Why should I overcome the lusts of the flesh? St John Chrysostom<\/strong> reflects on this and says;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPleasures often are destructive. They end up being not really pleasures but bitterness and deceit and pretense, like a theatrical illusion.\u201d<\/em> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Our lusts are but masked happiness which lead to eternal condemnation. We must not live in lust, because we don\u2019t know when our last day may be. We often tell ourselves, its ok if I overindulge today, I will be better tomorrow. By we must deny ourselves because \u201c\u2026you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.<\/em>\u201d (James 4:14)<\/strong> Likewise, \u201cHis spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 146:4)<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A priest\nonce described to me the notion of something called a \u201cbeloved sin.\u201d He said it\nwas a sin that a certain individual always finds themselves returning to, a sin\nthey sometimes think they have no control over, a sin they might even enjoy.\nLet\u2019s return to the donut, the cookie, the chocolate\u2026I asked a question\u2026How do\nyou feel after it? You might feel guilt, upset, or angry. Or you might feel\nhappy, joyful, and satisfied. Our favourite treat is like our \u2018beloved sin\u2019,\nour fleshly lust. We may be burdened by our fleshly lust, we may feel we have\nno control over our fleshly lust, we might even enjoy fulfilling our fleshly\nlust. But because our life is but a \u2018vapour\u2019, we must put on spiritual\nnourishment. \u201cIf anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and\ntake up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose\nit, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it\nto a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?<\/em>\u201d (Matthew\n16:24-26)<\/strong> We must endure and deny our burden, that is our fleshly lust,\nwhether that be money, sexual desire, gluttony, or other sins\u2026 because as St\nPeter says in 1 Peter 2:11<\/strong> it is a \u201c\u2026war against the soul.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most importantly, we are reminded of God\u2019s love. That love is the single, most epic love of all time. No other love can compare. If our body, mind and spirit recognise this love, then all impulse drive in our mind, all emotions in our systems, and all hormones which are associated with temporary fleshly lust, will then desire that eternal love because it is the only way to feel full for longer. Like in the story of the Samaritan woman, \u201cWhoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing into everlasting life.\u201d<\/em> (John 4:13-14)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that I have answered the almighty WHY, we know that our fleshly lusts may be a burden, an \u2018illusion\u2019 of happiness and to overcome it we are reminded of Christs love and must take up our cross. How do we practically take up our cross? The contemplations of the Saints guide us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the Word of God kills in such a way as to make the dead one come alive. He then seeks the Lord whom he did not know before his death. He does not corrupt but kills the old man\u2026As the outer man decays the inner man is renewed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>St Jerome<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you control your body, the spirit will do its job and the might of the body will be controlled by fasting.\u201d <\/em><\/p>Pope Kyrillos VI<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIgnore the needs of the body when you stand for prayer. Even if you are bitten by a fly or an insect, do not be bothered by it so as not to lose the great benefit of prayer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>St Evagrius<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Through fasting,\nprayer and the word of God, we put off our fleshly lusts. We put on spiritual\nnourishment. We become one with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet us see how the saints reached heaven. They did not have an easy life but had to struggle in patience and great long suffering. The Scriptures gave us the commandments, and the saints left us their experience regarding the path leading to the Kingdom. Let us see how much they loved God. Let us contemplate their lives. We will realize that they lived in humility and meekness, in hard work, in struggle, in love for God and others, in vigilance and prayer, in addition to their manual work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Tamav Ereeny<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New Man Part 2: Put off Worldly Lust, Put on Spiritual Nourishment By Ereeny Mikhail I want you to think to a time you bought your favourite treat. A box of Favourites chocolates. A dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts. A container of cookies. You bought it at the end of the week after you\u2019ve … Continue reading “Put off Worldly Lust, Put on Spiritual Nourishment”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,348,340,349],"class_list":["post-6502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-love","tag-lust","tag-new-man","tag-spiritual-nourishment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6504,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions\/6504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}