One of the original Christians, Paul of Tarsus, issued a complaint that rings true for me today:
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 8.15 – for whomever wants to look it up)
For myself, I find I spend way too much of my time watching TV, or sleeping, or playing computer games, or even reading blogs. And when I do these things, half the time I’m not even enjoying it; instead, I’m thinking, I really should be doing something else – writing or cleaning the house or exercising…
I realize that I’m really running away from what I can do, what I really want at a deep level. I want a clean house. I want a healthier body. That’s when I feel good. And yet, I’m afraid … of what? I think it’s just of the difficulty. I’m afraid of losing out on something.
Except, by wasting my time on nonsense, I really am losing out on the life I could be living.
So I’m trying to stop doing what I don’t want. And that’s easy, in the short term. But in the long term, if I gave up reading blogs (for example), it would just leave a gap in my life. I can’t stop reading blogs without finding something else to fill the time – something that might end up being TV!
The only way to stop doing what I don’t want is to start doing what I do want instead. In other words, the way to overcome vice is to practice virtue.
Easier said than done, I know. So I’m going to share my efforts and my experience in pursuing virtue with you. Please join me: it’s easier to improve together than it is alone. And please share your own experiences in the comments. I’m no expert. I’m just hoping to learn something and share whatever it is I learn.
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