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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Learning from a Prostitute

Photo: funparamount.com
One of the tests of sanity is whether we know right from wrong. And most of us do.
Of course, knowing right doesn't always translate into doing right, but it could.  It's simple, after all. Just ask yourself one question:
Do  feel like I need to hide this?

Kathleen Norris tells a story about a monk named Ephrem who, when tempted by a prostitute, asks her to follow him to a crowded place then, once among the throng out in the open, gives her permission to do what she wants with him. He knows that her business is never done in the light, though, and she leaves him unmolested.*

We can put our own temptations to a similar test. Is what we are thinking a thought we can speak out in a crowd? Is what we want to do an act we can perform in public with perfect comfort?
The same reasoning applies to us as it does to the prostitute in Norris' story.
If we feel like we have to hide something, it's probably wrong.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me...then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.--Psalm 32: 3-5

Hiding does not work. The only free soul is the one who has nothing to hide.
If I cannot be transparent before men, I cannot live righteously before God.

*Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk, p. 278

4 comments:

  1. "If we feel like we have to hide something, it's probably wrong." Your words speak so much truth. I'm glad I stopped in. Thank you for visiting my site today and for your kind comment. Many blessings to you.
    Beth

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  2. This is actually a really good point. I try to follow a similar thought process, albeit one that doesn't reference prostitutes! But the point remains the same.

    Good post.

    FYI: I found you on the Monday Blog Hop. :-)

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  3. Powerful truth in this post. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I had never heard the prostitute story before. What a good illustration of how God is light and evil loves darkness. May God help us to always live in the light, not in hiding.

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