To be near unto God - pagina 522

And

thus a more serious evil will always cause the struggle against a lesser evil to weaken. And such is also the case with respect to the soul. When the struggle is continued to resist and to repel the particular sin which tempts one the most strongly, a number of other sins have almost free play and their progress is unnoticed. He who perseveres in the main fight against arrogance and pride, against sensual propensity, or avarice, is thereby exposed to the danger that little untruths, dishonesties, infidelities, bitternesses, vanities, selfishnesses and so much more, become almost a second nature, strike root in his heart ever more firmly, and soil his inner life. This is only discovered when at last the chief enemy has been as good as worsted. Then tenderness of conscience begins immediately to work with these erstwhile neglected sins, and one is frightened at the sight of the luxurious growth of weeds in the garden of the heart. And to what cause can this sad outcome be attributed save to this, that one struggled bravely indeed to free himself from his worst enemy, but utterly lost sight of the struggle against sin, because God strives against it. It continued to be an effort to set one's person free, to measure his strength of spirit and will against the strength of this particular sin; dissatisfaction with self, in case of defeat, and the determination not to rest until victory was gained. But all this went on outside of the secret walk with God. Divine help was invoked to worst the enemy of the soul, but there was no awakening of soul to beat off, as a poisonous adder, the enemy of our God. And, therefore, such a struggle could not bring you 518

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