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The Noonday Demon
Sloth is normally understood as a form of laziness. “We often think of sloth as a harmless form of physical laziness, and joke about how long it’s been since we vacuumed the carpet. But sloth is much more than laziness. It is an inability to concentrate on serious matters, and profound weariness of soul” [1]. Gregory the Great included Sloth in his list of seven deadly sins, incorporating Evagrius Ponticus’ (345-399 A.D.) earlier teaching on acedia [2]. “Acedia was a numb sort of ‘not-caring’ that obliterated any sense of spiritual desire whatever” [3]. Initially acedia was not viewed as a sin, but as a temptation to sin. “It becomes a sin only if one succumbs to it, if one gives in to discouragement by making no effort at all. It is only then that it changes from trial to transgression, to an act of cowardice” [4]. Acedia is the refusal to see grace in barren places, and a diminished capacity to recognise grace even in good things [1]. Read More....

Food, Food, Glorious Food
Masterchef has had an amazing amount of popularity since it started in Australia in 2009. It is great to watch, and much more innocuous than many other things that are shown on reality television. There is not a huge likelihood of seeing contestants getting it on Big Brother style in the kitchen. As Christians it would be easy to see this as a fairly harmless way to spend the evening. However, Masterchef is one example of our culture-wide obsession with food. Another reality show—The Biggest Loser—shows the other side of this obsession. Many of the contestants’ stories show that although their presenting issue is obesity, the underlying causes are psychological and spiritual. While they may drop the kilos, they may never find the ultimate answer to the deeper hunger that the overeating points to. Read More....

Sermon on the Mount
Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on anger is one of the scariest parts of the Bible, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:21-22). How many of us can honestly say that we are free from anger? What about when really nasty things happen in life? Not necessarily the annoying driver who cuts us off in traffic, but what about when we hear of people who abuse children? Would that not constitute a just reason for anger? Read More....

Hirsch, A & D. (2010).Untamed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
“In this provocative and compelling book, internationally known missiologists Alan and Debra Hirsch cast a dynamic vision of mission-shaped discipleship. Untamed exposes the idolatrous clutter that fills our lives and seeks to recapture what it means to be authentic followers of Jesus. Each chapter ends with suggested practices to help you start living out the book’s principles, as well as questions for group discussion” Read More....

Not Seeing Ourselves As We Really Are
Pride is the weed that grows in the mess of not seeing ourselves as we truly are. Pride can manifest itself either in an inflated belief about how good we are, or how bad we are. It is as prideful to believe that nobody else in the world is a useless as we are, as it is to believe that nobody else in the world is as wonderful as we are. Both perspectives are hopelessly conceited and arrogant. They inflate our ideas about ourselves to the point of idolatry. Read More....