Fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness
The apostle John identifies love as a manifestation of the Light of God in a heart. Only love for God and love for one's fellow human beings gives man an opportunity to find the Light of God; this is why Christ, during his physical presence among us, was able to teach us that two laws summarized the entire law: the first concerning the love of God and the second, the love of neighbor.
Unfortunately, in order to plunge and continually keep humanity in darkness, the evil one created and developed another type of "love" to replace the love due to God and neighbor: this is love for the world. But let us read an excerpt from the First Epistle of John before continuing:
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Only our unconditional love for God and our love for our neighbor will constantly lead us to do the Lord's will, allowing us to wisely define our ongoing quest in this life full of temptations and illusions. Only this love can be our light, constantly guiding us toward what pleases God, relying on God's revelations to us through Holy Scripture, through fellowship with Christ's disciples, and through inspirations placed directly upon our hearts. But let us remember that only God is truly able to tell us precisely what love for Him and for our neighbor is, hence our constant need to implore Him in prayer to guide us and grant us the wisdom to continually discern His voice, to distinguish His voice from the many deceitful voices of the evil one. Indeed, the evil one will always use the world to try to seduce us again and repeatedly plunge us into darkness. To this end, there are, among others, three tentacles he will very often use, and against which the Apostle Paul tirelessly warned us in his time: these are, in particular and in order, fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness. Let us read two key excerpts from these warnings, the first addressed emphatically to the Ephesians and the second to the Colossians:
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry
Why does the apostle always list them in the same order? We do not personally have the revelation, however it seems to us that this is not insignificant, but we will go back together to the very first one, then the very last one before concluding with the second.
Fornication, a defilement of the body
The Lord Jesus already warned us against adultery in thought, a warning that can obviously be extended to any other form of impurity: we are thus warned that lust in the heart is as much a defilement for the soul as the act itself. But the same Lord, this time through his apostle Paul, warns us about the defilement of the very "body" in which one would find oneself if one were to go so far as to commit impurity in action.
But before reminding the two biblical references, let us emphasize that it is not a question for us here of easing the conscience of the one who would indulge in impurity "only" in thought; no, we could not oppose the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom we claim the baptism of the Spirit; on the other hand, we want to point out to those who would reach a certain degree of depth in darkness the oh so obscure nature of their actions and the beginning of the destruction of their own "flesh". … O Lord Jesus Christ, we beseech you to come and speak to each heart according to its need, according to the form of impurity by which it is tempted…
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Covetousness, an idolatry
We are taking a "risk" here again, but we implore you to grasp the meaning of our words. Every sin is serious before the Lord, but there are some that God himself, through his voice or that of his apostles, defines in a specific way. Such is the case with greed, which the apostle takes care in each of the aforementioned passages to identify as idolatry. To commit a sin is, by definition, to go against God's will, to violate his Law engraved in our hearts or recorded in the Scriptures. But to commit idolatry is quite simply to worship a false god. This worship can be conscious or unconscious, and unfortunately, greed, which is the most widespread sin of idolatry in the world, is precisely pernicious because it is an unconscious act of worship to mammon. With a little honesty, many can admit to having made the pursuit of money the greatest quest of their lives; many can admit that their thoughts are constantly preoccupied with the pursuit of increasingly substantial gains, by means of ensuring their offspring as substantial a gain as possible, whether through an inheritance or higher education with a well-paid position in sight. In short, everything in their lives unfolds as if money were the most precious thing they could have on earth, or that they could wish for those they love. Unfortunately, most of these people are unaware that such an attitude is idolatry, or more precisely, a form of worship of money, and more specifically, of mammon.
Indeed, this amounts to erecting this evil spirit as a god, on the throne of one's own heart. This is a continuous act of worship to Mammon. For worship is not necessarily a set of spoken words; it is first and foremost an attitude of the heart, a perceptible attitude of the heart, not in a place of worship, but in every moment of our lives, in each of our actions, in each of our interactions with our fellow human beings, in each of our quests. This is why the Lord, long before Paul, Himself took care to identify greed as idolatry, going so far as to name the demon, the deity, the idol that was behind this terrible sin. And just as John later spoke of the love of the world as a form of blindness, so too did His Master indicate years earlier that the love of mammon was a form of blindness.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
A number of us in this generation, at various levels, have serious problems with their relationship to money, including genuine children of God. It is not enough to console ourselves by arguing that our thoughts are not constantly preoccupied with money, but rather with the ways and means of worshipping God in spirit and in truth, with the means of preaching Christ to our fellow human beings, with the means of assisting those in need, whether materially or physically, with the means of instructing our children in the ways of the Lord from a young age (age-appropriate Christian literature, involvement in youth Christian circles, family worship, etc.), instilling in them the values of the faith even before they reach the age of conscience when they must make the personal and conscious choice to follow the Lord and Christ Jesus … Having noble thoughts is an excellent thing, having God's will as a permanent quest is an excellent Cause for a life, but we must all continually beseech the Lord God to grant us to remain awake so as not to succumb to the vicious temptations of the evil one.
Uncleaness vs. Purity
Rather than speaking directly about impurity, we will instead highlight a few biblical passages on purity. The first comes directly from the Lord and emphasizes the inheritance at the end of time of those who have kept their hearts pure. The second comes from the Apostle Paul, who offers us an approach to using purity as a light to guide our steps:
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Word of God made flesh to save us. During Your physical presence among us, You revealed Yourself as our Light, our Model, our Master. It is Your Example of Love for the Father that we want to follow, it is Your Example of Love for humanity that we want to follow, it is the Life led by the Holy Spirit that You lived, that we too want to live. Lord Jesus Christ, come and save each of us who do not yet know You, and to those who have already called upon You in their lives and have accepted to follow You, whatever obstacles may lie ahead, grant us the grace, even today, to be filled anew with Your Holy Spirit, so that with a rekindled flame, we may walk in Your Light, walk in Love for the Father, walk in Love for humanity, walk under the guidance of Your Holy Spirit!
Amen !!!
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