Re: External vs Internal
Submitted by hopesalive on November 4 2001 18:13:41
In reply to External vs Internal submitted by 194 on November 3 2001 14:07:41
| Good question. I seem to have a habit of being ambiguous. Really, I think we agree and are just using different words in different ways. Sometimes the seperation of temptation from desire can be tricky, which is why I think prayer is important in making this distinction. By internal I was talking about the things that you control within yourself. Instincts and urges are just part of the human reality. This is something that we share with the greatest saints. What we may not share, though, is how we handle these things. If we reject them (internal decision), we are still pure. Is our "flesh" pure? I don't think so, but that is not who we are. That is why I would call it an external force. Who we are is ultimately decided by the choices we make. Overcoming or falling (as we all sometimes do) is simply a reflection of that internal struggle. The external struggle is common to all people does not decide the worth of a human or their morality. |
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