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Why Don't We Get It?

             Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (II Corinthians 7:1)

          We’re talking about perspectives again. It would be easy to read this verse and think of the drudgery of giving up or giving away everything that we hold dear. And, in a sense, we must give up or give away the things we hold dear to take hold of something worth far more.

          Is it unreasonable to suggest that if you propose marriage or accept a proposal, you would stop dating all the other folks? If you take a job for one company, would you be surprised if they were not happy to find you are also working for their competitors (and not as their spy)? If you decide to make a chocolate cake, would you think it drudgery to not throw peppers, sand, and moldy jam into the batter? Or would you realize that some things just aren’t compatible with chocolate cake?

          We know these things, just like Adam and Eve knew that if they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die. They might not have been aware of all the details, but they knew. But like them, we bristle at limitations and make life difficult for ourselves.  Why can we not get it through our thick heads and hard hearts that what we’re called to rid ourselves of is at least not good for us now, and possibly poison? Instead, we pound on the table and scream that we want it and we want it NOW.

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