6th
Day Within the Octave of Christmas
Comparing
translations can sometimes really stoke the imagination.
Do not love the world or the
things in the world.
The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—
the desire of the flesh
(sensual lust, cravings of sinful people),
the desire of the eyes
(enticement for the eyes, lust of their eyes),
the pride in riches
(a pretentious life, and their boasting about what they have and do)
—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.
The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—
the desire of the flesh
(sensual lust, cravings of sinful people),
the desire of the eyes
(enticement for the eyes, lust of their eyes),
the pride in riches
(a pretentious life, and their boasting about what they have and do)
—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.
(1 John 2:15-17 NRSV, NAB, NIV)
How a word strikes me can make or break the impact of the underlying message. Pride of riches did not indict me. Boasting about what I have and do started to knock at my door. But Pretentious life …well…I was nailed!
Cravings,
enticement and boasting. These are words
that ask for my attention. They echo back to me the
same line I use on my sixteen-year-old son:
Be careful about what impresses you (in others and in oneself). As Yoda might say: Christlikeness it should be.
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