Sins of the Flesh

Peace of soul, simplicity of intention, the ability to trust oneself. These are, paradoxically, the prize of the humble and patient.

I enjoyed reading a bit from St. Thomas and Peter Kreeft about why God allows people to fall into sins of the flesh. In sum:

• God permits one to sin in lesser ways in order to prevent one from sinning in greater ways.
• Sins of the flesh, while more shameful, and thus humiliating, are less harmful than sins of the spirit, chiefly pride.
• God withholds graces from us that we might misuse. E.g. God could withhold from us the graces needed to conquer sins of the flesh if we would use such a conquest to place trust in ourselves inordinately, or to become self-righteous, or to deceive ourselves into believing it was in our power to overcome them.
• The humiliation God gives is not so much a punishment as a medicine. Kreeft compares the humiliation due to sins of the flesh to chemotherapy used as a drastic remedy against the cancer of pride.

Sometimes we wish to enjoy the ability to be at peace and to trust ourselves, the prize of the humble and patient, without undertaking the hard work, long-suffering, and death to self by which such a prize is won. We are like those who wish to taste the fruit of the vine without having worked in the vineyard, or  having waited for the harvest season, or the aging of the wine.