For about two weeks the battery in our bathroom scale was dead.
I knew we had a replacement--but just couldn't seem to remember to put it in.
Maybe.
I kind of liked not having a scale.
It sat dead in the corner. Yeh.
I ate more ice cream.
and cookies
and a burger here and there
and a beer
..maybe two.
Each day the scale sat there---dead.
Ha.
Then I bent over to tie my shoes and felt my gut pushing back.
Crap.
We need scales in the spiritual life.
We need to stay honest.
We can't delude ourselves into thinking everything is okay while we fill our senses and souls with crap.
I can do what I want--cause Jesus died for me and I'm already saved.
Yeh, right. Bank on your soul making it to purgatory (which is pretty good...) while your free will satiates itself. Really?
No scale.
Last evening at a youth ministry meeting I went out on a limb and shared with the few members present--"You're not praying enough." I continued "I'm not lining up missions and retreats and overnights if you guys don't start taking prayer more serious."
At first I had a couple looks like I was being judgmental--until someone said "How'd you know?"
Spiritual scales help keep us honest in our quest.
It is so easy to get spiritually sidetracked--in fact satan is banking on sloth and laziness and gluttony and lust and anger and greed and all those things that take our focus away.
Stay away from the spiritual scale and you can grow fat on paganized sugar.
During the month of October we have the tradition in our family of erecting and decorating The Saint Tree.
Everyone in the family takes a day and makes an ornament depicting some aspect or picture of the Saint of the Day--using old and new calendars.
Saints are not only our intercessors but our spiritual scales--they give us their lives to measure ourselves with. Of course I'm no saint (please don't crash the site with comments on that statement)--but I can try and try again to unite myself with Christ--after all isn't that what they did?
So don't be afraid to get spiritually weighed today--examine your conscience--be honest--ask a saint to help.
