7月10日 属灵怠惰

又要彼此相顾，激发爱心，勉励行善。你们不可停止聚会。（来十24-25）

我们都有属灵的惰性，就是不想面对生命的颠簸与艰难，只望安之乐之过退休的生活。希伯来书第十章的要点是我们彼此激励，齐集聚会——二者都需要积极自发。这是实现基督的自发，而非实现自我的自发。若离群独处，过着退隐的生活，这与主耶穌的属灵教导根本相违。

当我们遇见不义、诡诈、忘恩、扰乱时，灵性便受到考验。这些事很容易使我们陷入属灵的怠惰中。我们以读经祷告作为退隐的工具，利用神来取得平安喜乐。换言之，我们并不是要活出基督，而只想去享受他，这就是方向错误的第一步。其实这一切只是果效，我们却把它们变作目标。

彼得说：“我自以为应当……提醒你们，激发你们。”神用充满属灵活力的使者击打我们，是最不好受的。活跃的工作与属灵活力是两回事，但前者可以假冒后者。属灵惰性的危机在于不想被激发，只想过属灵退隐的生活。主耶穌从不鼓励退隐的思想，他说：“去告诉我的弟兄……”

祈祷◆噢，主啊，愿你的恩福今天在此地临到我们：使我们脱离怠惰和灵性上的懒散，让你所保证的全然成就。

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 . .”