Jesus identifies spiritual roadblocks which seemed invisible to even the most devout in his day. The mystical masters of Jesus’ world could certainly spot the spiritual roadblock of murder (Matt. 6:21) or adultery (Matt. 6:27). They perceived with precision that immoralities like these kept people from intimacy with God. But they failed to recognize the spiritual barrier of anger which was the first step toward murder (Matt. 6:22). They could not detect the barricade of lust which eventually fueled adultery (Matt. 6:28). The professionally pious seemed content to rid their path of obvious obstacles of murder and adultery. But they remained oblivious to “lesser” yet equally damaging depravities like anger and lust.
This failure marks all of us. It marks me. Early in my walk with Jesus I labored to rid my life of the low hanging fruit regarding when it came to ungodliness. My sexual impurity was easy to spot and became the object of intense repentance and renewal. But once I tackled the noticeable corruptions like sexual impurity, I relaxed. I slowed down. I figured the fight was basically over.
As I grew older in the faith, however, it began to dawn on me that “lesser” yet similarly significant sins were standing between me and my Father. These iniquities disguised themselves and remained in the shadows. They were woven deep into my habits of thinking, my worldview, and my “natural” tendencies. Only with great intentionality could I even fathom them, much less fight them: my deep hunger for approval, my fear of failure, and my drive to control conditions and colleagues. I soon sought a way to better highlight these hidden sins and deal with them in an aggressive manner. The Examen provided just this.
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