Of Humility

Book XV

Of Humility

iv. At one time there came old men to the abbot Antony, and the abbot Joseph was with them. And the abbot Antony, wishing to prove them, brought the discourse to the Holy Scriptures. And he began to question, beginning with the younger men, what this or that word might mean. And each made answer as best he could. But he said to them, "Ye have not found it yet." After them he said to the abbot Joseph, "What dost thou say this word might be?" He answered, "I know not." And the abbot Antony said, "Verily the abbot Joseph alone hath found the road, who saith that he doth not know."

I have thought of this story so many times over the years, because I was once so arrogant with knowledge that I would have never admitted to not knowing something about this scripture, or that. I was so inflated in my own mind because of an abundance of superficial head knowledge of scriptural text and doctrine, that I certainly believed no one else could add anything unto my life. Needless to say I offended many people for the sake of winning an argument, but thanks be to God, Who in due time, brought me down from such a elevated view of my own wretched self, and through pure grace He has enabled me to see the truth that Saint Paul proclaimed in the simple text "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."

An Age of Irresponsibility

I saw an anti smoking commercial today (one of the several thousand in the past year) and it really annoyed me. During my teen years I indulged in numerous drugs, including marijuana, but I have never had a nicotine habit. Here in West Virginia, most people do! The thing that annoys me to no end is this idiotic philosophy that claims everyone else but the guilty party is responsible for the problems encountered down the road. My father smoked, my mother smoked, and my three siblings all smoked, but I never saw anyone force them to do it. Perhaps this happens in some of the communist strongholds throughout the world, but I haven't seen it. After reading the scriptures on a regular basis for the past 18 years I have come to a firm conclusion that no one is going to get by with this "I'm not responsible" act when they appear in judgment before God Almighty. I am not remotely fond of tobacco mind you, and I have always been thrilled when a family member chose to quit, but this is always the key issue in life, that is "choosing!"

We must choose right, and abhor evil, and if you decide to go the wrong way, then you must be prepared to face the consequences, even if it is lung cancer. Those who take this route, choose to do so at their own peril, just like the folks who enjoy sky diving, but sooner, or later we all have to face the cold hard reality that "WE", are responsible for the choices we make; even if someone added something to our Marlboros. A whole legislative movement is spreading across this country in the form of liberation from individual responsibility, in favor of corporate blame. Liberal lawyers and judges by the thousands are constantly promoting such insane lawsuits like the recent "McDonald's made me fat" example, and it strikes me as pure insanity. I see it already with many people I know firsthand, but a whole generation of children are being raised with this notion that big companies are the only true "evil" in the world, and it is beginning to sound a lot like radical Islam's hatred of capitalism.