free to flee
"You who have fled a world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature." —2 Peter 1:4
When we give our lives to Jesus, we flee a world corrupted by lust — lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes (1 Jn 2:16, RSV-CE), sexual lust, and lusts for money (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5), power, pleasure, etc. Though our lusts are strong, we are nevertheless unhappy when we give in to them, for they tend to make us like animals, to dehumanize us. If we are even slightly honest, we must admit that our lusts motivate us to treat people as objects to be manipulated and enslaved for our gratification. There is something sick and perverted about our lusts. Therefore, we rejoice that in Jesus we can flee "a world corrupted by lust" (2 Pt 1:4).
The Lord calls some people to flee a lustful world by being monks, consecrated virgins, nuns, or religious brothers. These people are like Jesus, "signs of contradiction" (see Lk 2:34). However, the Lord calls most people to be in the world but not of it — to live in the world but to have fled from its lusts. While being crucified to the world and the world to them (Gal 6:14), they live in the world. Consequently, the world hates them (Jn 17:14) for their righteousness and purity in the midst of its lust (see Wis 2:12, 16).
Rejoice in whatever way you are free to flee "a world corrupted by lust" (2 Pt 1:4).
Prayer: Father, open my eyes to the dehumanizing slavery of the life of lust.
Promise: "The Stone rejected by the builders has become the Keystone of the structure. It was the Lord Who did it and we find it marvelous to behold." —Mk 12:10-11; Ps 118:22ff
Praise: Timothy thanks God daily for his sobriety. He never forgets that the Lord gave him the grace to stop drinking.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet The Bible on Sex.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 27, 2018
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