Article September 15, 1986 Issue

Are we cherishing the good in our humanity or indulging mortality?

THOMAS C. ASHER

Some years ago on a rainy New Year's Day I watched three football games in their entirety on television. At the end of the day I felt like a part of the chair. I was dull, soft, and lifeless. In retrospect I saw that one of the games had been of genuine interest to me. Watching it was an appropriate thing to do, but my motive for watching the other two games was laziness and selfishness.

When one considers changing jobs, joining a club or organization, taking a vacation, or merely going on a shopping venture, he might well ask: "Am I seeking to fulfill a legitimate human need, or am I looking for satisfaction and joy in worldly things? Am I cherishing the good in my humanity or indulging merely mortal instinct?" The line between these two may not always be so obvious.

Indulging mortality often involves some form of excess—such as excess eating, sleeping, shopping, playing, working, or television viewing. Our love for God and spiritual truth fades into the background while we "reward" ourselves with some form of indulgence. And the indulgence is taking us in the direction of the limited and mortal.

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Clearing a path
September 15, 1986
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