Be a Slave to Sin or a Disciple for Good
Unusually clear water is seen in the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, during the Covid-19 lockdown because of less pollution. There is a challenge in that for us, argues Lionel Fynn. (Photo: Manuel Silvestri, Reuters/CNS)
The Resurrection of Christ means that I can no longer be a slave of sin. In dying Christ destroyed death — the final wages of sin. In rising he restored life.
Yet the inclination to sin — concupiscence, for example — remains. The Resurrection gives me the power to fight this temptation, day after day, and through the Holy Spirit within me, I find the courage to know and pursue the good instead.
Thus the choice becomes basic: be a slave to sin or a disciple of good.
A disciple is one who freely chooses to follow a master. In one way or another, the master has convinced the disciple that his way of life is worth living.
Should the disciple change his mind and find the way of life of the master to be faulty, he can choose to stop following him. Thereby the disciple retains his free will.
A slave is someone who is forced to serve a master. He may not like the master’s way of life, yet he has no choice but to please the master, even against his own will. He does not have the freedom to leave as long as his master has need of him. Thus the slave forfeits his free will.
Christ’s Resurrection not only encourages me but also gives me the power to constantly fight the inclination to sin, opening me up to the good spirit which moves within me. It gives me the grace to find the good in everything, even my current situation of lockdown.
The blow to world economies and the reduction in industry which the forced lockdown brought is disastrous.
At the same time, the environmental restoration which this same lockdown brought is significant.
A Benefit of Lockdown
In China, the drop in airborne pollutants has had a beneficial impact, with carbon dioxide emissions dropping by 13,5% in January/February.
That decrease made the air become a bit cleaner and the environment more friendly for both plants and animals.
A good example can be seen in the two giant pandas in Hong Kong zoo who recently successfully mated after 13 years.
The damage which our environment faces is largely due to the human agency of economy and industry. These give rise to pollution, global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, natural resources depletion, overpopulation, waste disposal, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and so on.
The gradual increase of these phenomena as a result of our economy and industry can lead to a point in the future where the environment on planet Earth becomes unlivable.
Al Jazeera journalist Nick Clark has warned: “We will sleepwalk into another global crisis more malevolent by far than the coronavirus.”
The pause which the lockdown brings allows me to reflect on the reality that these phenomena can be reversed, that the current status quo may be working against me in the long-run, and most importantly that I have the power to change it.
Thus I am challenged to face an important question: once the lockdown is over, will I continue in the economy and industry which is slowly killing the planet, or will I be brave enough to redefine myself and become part of a new and promising world order?
In other words: Am I a slave of the current status quo or a disciple of a good world order?
- Embracing Poverty this Advent - December 5, 2020
- In this Pandemic, Follow The Law and Christ - September 15, 2020
- Listen To and Support the Young - July 21, 2020
