Sunday, September 10, 2006

"We often judge of a thing according as we have it at heart; for we easily lose true judgment through private affection.
If God were always the one aim of our desire, we should not so easily be disturbed at resistance to our opinions.
But there is often something lying hid within, or occurring from without, which draws us also along with it.
Many secretly seek themselves in what they do, and know it not.
They seem also to continue in good peace; when aught is done according to their will and judgment; but if it be done otherwise than they wish, they are soon moved and become sad."
Thomas A Kempis.

I like this quote, and the way I take it is, that our way of thinking, "have it at heart", and our emotional reaction to things, "private affection", are the things lying hidden within and are the filter we interpret circumstances with and then allow to draw us along into narrow or self centered thinking.

2 comments:

Michael McMullen said...

That's a good quote.

"If God were always the one aim of our desire, we should not so easily be disturbed at resistance to our opinions."

That reminds me of a sermon I heard once. Tim Storey said "God's opinion of me makes your opinion of me irrelevant."

That's as encouraging as it is humbling. So much of how we veiw ourselves comes from how we [think] others veiw us. So we try to make a facade of what we think others want. But when you see God looking at you and loving you the way He made you...you don't have to play anymore games. You can just be you. I don't know if that has anything to do with the rest of the quote, or even if it made sense.

But God knows what I'm getting at, so I'm good.

FCB said...

Well, it made sense to me and I too thought it was all good.