7月10日 屬靈怠惰

又要彼此相顧，激發愛心，勉勵行善。你們不可停止聚會。（來十24-25）

我們都有屬靈的惰性，就是不想面對生命的顛簸與艱難，只望安之樂之過退休的生活。希伯來書第十章的要點是我們彼此激勵，齊集聚會——二者都需要積極自發。這是實現基督的自發，而非實現自我的自發。若離群獨處，過著退隱的生活，這與主耶穌的屬靈教導根本相違。

當我們遇見不義、詭詐、忘恩、擾亂時，靈性便受到考驗。這些事很容易使我們陷入屬靈的怠惰中。我們以讀經禱告作為退隱的工具，利用神來取得平安喜樂。換言之，我們並不是要活出基督，而只想去享受他，這就是方向錯誤的第一步。其實這一切只是果效，我們卻把它們變作目標。

彼得說：“我自以為應當……提醒你們，激發你們。”神用充滿屬靈活力的使者擊打我們，是最不好受的。活躍的工作與屬靈活力是兩回事，但前者可以假冒後者。屬靈惰性的危機在於不想被激發，只想過屬靈退隱的生活。主耶穌從不鼓勵退隱的思想，他說：“去告訴我的弟兄……”

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你的恩福今天在此地臨到我們：使我們脫離怠惰和靈性上的懶散，讓你所保證的全然成就。

July 10 The Spiritual Sluggard

“Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” Hebrews 10:24-25

We are all capable of being spiritual sluggards; we do not want to mix with the rough and tumble of life as it is, our one object is to secure retirement. The note struck in Hebrews 10 is that of provoking one another and of keeping together – both of which require initiative, the initiative of Christ-realization, not of self-realization. To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The test of our spirituality comes when we come up against injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritual sluggards. We want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of retirement. We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him. This is the first step in the wrong direction. All these things are effects and we try to make them causes.

“I think it meet,” said Peter, “. . . to stir you up by putting you in remembrance.” It is a most disturbing thing to be smitten in the ribs by some provoker of God, by someone who is full of spiritual activity. Active work and spiritual activity are not the same thing. Active work may be the counterfeit of spiritual activity. The danger of spiritual sluggishness is that we do not wish to be stirred up, all we want to hear about is spiritual retirement. Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement – “Go tell My brethren . .”