August 5, 2018

DISCIPLINE

Romans 14:3-4

Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

Personal Challenge

In Orthodoxy, we have many traditions that have become part of the practice of our faith. Some of these can be traced back to the beginnings of the Christian Church. Paul is teaching us here in his letter to the Romans that many of our traditions are practiced to teach us how to discipline our minds and bodies so that we are drawn closer to our Lord, and that these practiced traditions should never divide us from our brothers and sisters. One of these traditions is fasting. We do not fast because it is required for our salvation. We do not fast so that like the Pharisee we can show everyone how good a Christian we are. We fast so that we can discipline the passions of our body and ultimately the passions that affect our souls. Just as the athlete exercises to build the muscles of his body, so do we do things like fasting to exercise the muscles of our spiritual body. We should never compare our attempts of discipline to others or condemn others if they do practice these disciplines. We are to put the love for our neighbor above all else except our love for our Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!