Men's Rosary

We can be a student of one of two schools; the school of the world or the school of Jesus Christ. The confusion seems to be that some think they can be in both simultaneously. There is the “church” life where we go to feel like we are doing good and then there is the “real world” life where we find our fulfillment and enjoyment, or so we think. We only live one life and that includes things of God and of the world because we are in the world. It is one or the other; the world (devil) or God.

The school of the world focuses on the person. The “personal development” industry is a $50-$60 billion per year industry and growing! In this school one learns that they hold the power to define their destiny, to be anything they choose to be. It is all about the person and not the other. Quite often the other is used as an example of failure and example of what one may become without following the philosophy taught. “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) There is merit to this school if the goal is reaching elevated levels of success and status according to the barometer of man. When riches, fame, and ease of life are the goal, this teaching will serve one well. The problem is that it is not of God and offers only temporary success and benefit at best. It is not everlasting. The world makes us seek things that bring pleasure, masking the pain we should feel by our failings before God. The reality is that this school does us the worse kind of harm – spiritual harm, even leading to spiritual death. “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” (Romans 16:17-18) While there is good among the teachings of this school, it becomes improperly focused on the self and the trappings of the flesh.

The school of Christ takes the focus off the person and onto the Kingdom of God, the law of love, and the redemption of mankind. It teaches selfless love of God and humanity, sacrifice rather than pleasure. It teaches radical forgiveness. “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22) It teaches humility and obedience, and the Golden Rule. “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) Here we enter a school that is not concerned with immediate gratification and matters of the flesh. To the contrary, it focuses on the future reward of heaven. It teaches how to submit to God and unite our will to his will for us. We strive to become what God wants us to be, not what we want to be. We learn to obey and to look honestly at ourselves to be able to face our faults and improve.

The guides in the school of the world are deceiving. What appears to be; is not the reality. On the surface all seems well and good. Our best interest is presented as the driving force. The teaching is flawed. We see it even within Christianity in the promotion of the Prosperity Gospel. We need not the theories of men, but divine revelation. This is found only in the school of Jesus Christ. A person is either a friend of the world, or a friend of God. One is temporary and the other everlasting. In death the things of the flesh and their pleasures will pass away. God will remain and we will be before him to answer to our failings we ignored for so long. The rewards of the school of the world are apparent and easy to see. They will be dangled before our eyes to make us envious and wanting what we see. We must remember that the reward we should seek, is unseen. It is promised by Christ and hoped for by us. “because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

The world and its school of thought focus on the immediate gratification and put off death for as long as possible. There is an obsession with longevity. With Christ and his school of thought there could be a desire for longevity, however I think it would be not for more time to live, but more time to repent.

We are not in charge of our life, God is. We do not control tomorrow, much less our destiny. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15) We can cooperate with God or we can ignore him. The choice is ours and the stakes are high. May we choose wisely!

“Strive thus to desire to enter into complete detachment and emptiness and poverty, with respect to everything that is in the world, for Christ’s sake.” (St. John of the Cross)