Repentance
“Chronic
remorse, as all moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable
sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you
can and address yourself to the task of behaving better the next
time. On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck
is not the best way of getting clean.”
Aldous
Huxley (Brave New World)
The
liturgical season of Lent is supposed to be all about temptation and
repentance. In the dark history of this season, there was much
lashing, and crawling on knees, and morbid degradation of spirit. But
in truth the meaning of “repent” is simply to turn; to turn away
from, to change. Most of us know when we have said or done something
mean-spirited. In the moment there may have been a rush of pleasure
at inflicting pain on someone who “deserved” it, but in
hindsight, we are the ones feeling the sting. And some of us have a
hard time saying, “I'm sorry.” Better to swallow your pride and
make amends than to carry the weight of hatefulness forever.
It
is human to succumb to the temptation to power over others; in fact,
it is mammalian. I watch the dogs in my house struggle over this all
the time. At this very moment, Liza is lingering over a crumb or two
of food in her bowl. She doesn't really want it, but, oh my, Barley
does. Barley is circling the room, coming again and again to the
bowl, and as soon as Liza looks away, or better still, steps away,
that dram of chow will be consumed. The temptation is simply too
great. Even though Liza is about one-fifth the size of Barley, she is
the alpha in this household, and has no problem putting a smack-down
on Barley for her transgressions. Daily, hourly, there is a contest
of wills for power over the food bowl. Humans are no different, just
more subtle and devious. We covet what we do not have. That is not
going to change; the only thing that changes is the heart. We
consciously repent. We work to change, or turn away from, the
temptation to take what doesn't belong to us.
The
reason for giving something up during Lent, is less to deprive us of
something we love, and more to train us how to resist temptation. If
we can resist in the little things, we are better equipped to resist
in things that really matter. Feeling pure of spirit is more about
resisting temptation than about asking forgiveness. But if you have
hurt someone, let yourself off the hook, and make amends. Bless them
and move on.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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