No Room for the Immoral

We live in a time when immorality is championed as personal freedom. For those of us striving to grow in virtue, we reminisce back to the good ol’ days when sexual sin and temptation was not lurking around every corner. 

However, when you look at Saint Paul’s letters, we get the sense that our struggles are not so unique, and all the more, Paul’s words should be a very relevant warning for our times. 

“For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love… Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:13, 19-21)

It’s important for us to read that last line slowly. “Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The purpose of this reading is not so we get to sit on our high horses and condemn both the ancient and modern sinners. All of us are called for freedom. To experience the freedom from sin and the freedom of eternal love. But, achieving this freedom is a battle that all of us face, because all of us are sinners too. 

Where have we given into the works of the flesh that Paul mentions? Heed Paul’s warning. Look inward to your own soul. Go to confession. 

“I am the lover of purity and the giver of all holiness. I seek a pure heart, and there I shall rest.” Thomas a Kempis