To Do and Not To Do, Part 3

So I'm just continuing with those items from The Rule of St Benedict I've been discussing in the last couple of posts. Here are the next group:

(22)  Not to give way to anger.

(23)  Not to foster a desire for revenge.

(24)  Not to entertain deceit in the heart.

(25)  Not to make a false peace.

(26)  Not to forsake charity.

(27)  Not to swear, lest perchance one swear falsely.

(28)  To speak the truth with heart and tongue.

(29)  Not to return evil for evil.

(30)  To do no injury, yea, even patiently to bear the injury done us.

(31)  To love one's enemies.

(32)  Not to curse them that curse us, but rather to bless them.

(33)  To bear persecution for justice sake.

(34)  Not to be proud.

(35)  Not to be given to wine.

(36)  Not to be a great eater.

(37)  Not to be drowsy.

(38)  Not to be slothful.

(39)  Not to be a murmurer.

(40)  Not to be a detractor.

(41)  To put one's trust in God.

(42)  To refer what good one sees in himself, not to self, but to God.

(43) But as to any evil in himself, let him be convinced that it is his own and charge it to himself.

There's a lot here, but again I'll just stick with the few that jump out at me right now that I think I can act on - the ones I've highlighted.

But before any more comment, let's back up a step.

You can do what I'm doing here with anything you read during your daily reading. Again, every day I typically read some Scripture, some doctrinal reading, some spiritual reading. I spend about 15 minutes on each (on a good day) and I do this early, before going to work. There's nothing unique about this. It was recommended to me by a spiritual director years ago and I've just stuck to it through thick and thin.

In the beginning, I just sort of pushed myself to "get through" the reading each day. Then, as I developed some discipline, I got more consistent. In fact, I've read the entire Bible several times (via my 15 minutes of Scripture). But eventually it dawned on me that just plowing through the reading wasn't the best approach. It's not about setting some sort of record on how many times you can read the Bible or how much doctrine you can learn or memorize, or how many of the spiritual masters' works you can get through. It's supposed to be about developing your interior life and growing closer to God.

So now I don't rush; I take my time. And that's how I decided to pick out a few items from the list St Benedict developed.

Next time, I'll go through the highlighted items I picked today to see what I come up with - you know, things I can take action on right away to help me grow closer to God. But for now, it's time to get to work. I've got a big day planned...