Joshua 1:8

"...[B]ut you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8).

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39).

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13).

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Virtue of Penance

T. M. Moore

The beauty of virtue in doing penance for excess…
-          Taliesin, “Loves” (early Welsh)
 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-          Romans 12:21
 
None of us is naturally virtuous. We acquire virtue as we grow, by God’s Word and Spirit, into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever virtue we are able to realize is only the life of Christ and His righteousness being lived out in us.
 
But we will not realize progress in Christian virtue without the virtue of penance. Here I’m thinking of penance not as a sacrament, but as a spiritual discipline. This is the way Celtic Christians employed penance during the period of the Celtic Revival in Ireland, Scotland, and across Europe (ca. 430-800 AD).
 
The basic idea behind penance is summarized in the Celtic Christian motto, found in several of the penitential handbooks of this period, “contraries are by contraries cured.” That is, behavior that is contrary to the Law and Word of God is corrected, over time and under the watchful eye of a caring soul friend, by practicing the opposite and virtuous behavior. A person who had a tendency to use his tongue for carping and complaining, let’s say, would, upon coming under conviction, be prescribed a regimen of Scriptures to recite and sing daily, until he trained his tongue for praise and edification. Thus he would “overcome evil with good.”
 
It’s not enough to confess our sins whenever the Spirit of God brings them to mind. We must confess and repent if we hope to be restored to the Lord and to regain our footing along the path of Christian virtue. And for this, the discipline of penance can be a beautiful virtue indeed.
 
Once you have identified the problem you’re dealing with, search the Scriptures to find guidance as to what the opposite and virtuous behavior would look like instead. You might enlist a soul friend or pastor to help you in this search. Then, using the Scriptures you’ve identified as in the path of virtue, chart a course of daily obedience that will help you to walk that path rather than the one for which the Spirit of God has convicted you. Be accountable to someone who cares about you and will pray for you. Give your heart and mind to the Lord and practice daily those new behaviors until they cut a true groove of virtue into your soul.
 
Virtue doesn’t just happen in our lives. We have to work at it, daily, diligently, conscientiously, and by very specific paths of renewal and growth. We don’t have to be afraid of penance. It’s a very Biblical and extremely useful discipline for helping us to be transformed increasingly into the image of Jesus Christ.
 
Let penance do its work in your life, and you’ll find out why Taliesin regarded it as “beautiful” and one of the real loves of his life.

From Breakpoint.org
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1 comment:

  1. JoshuaOctober 10, 2013 at 10:15 AM

    "Give your heart and mind to the Lord and practice daily those new behaviors until they cut a true groove of virtue into your soul."

    I really liked the way this was put. In other words, worship The Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we do this, as Paul states, then our faith will be the evidence of things hoped for.

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