The wages of sin

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time, 14 June 2022
1 Kings 21:17-29   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>   Matthew 5:43-48

"For the wages of sin
is death;but the gift of God
is eternal life through 
Jesus Christ " (Romans 6:23).

Although your words today,
dear God are not from St. Paul,
his words to the Romans immediately
came to me as I prayed on the sins of
King Ahab and his queen Jezebel
in the first reading.
Though you have forgiven Ahab for
his sins after he had confessed 
having caused the death of Naboth
to have his vineyard, you never took back'
his punishments which fell upon his whole
family line.
Although I feel it a bit unfair,
your Son's teachings in the gospel
cleared all questions in me. 

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that is was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

Matthew 5:43-45

Yes, your words O God are so
difficult to comprehend, even insane
when we come to think about them;
but the more I dwell on your words,
the more I try to follow you in Jesus Christ,
the more I realize you are not only holy but
also practical.
Holiness is being practical.
Staying holy, being good, being loving
and forgiving are the most practical
and sanest things to do:  so often, life
becomes miserable for us because of 
our own making, of our wrong choices 
to do what is sinful, what is unjust,
what is wrong.
In the case of Ahab and Jezebel, there were
the clear results of death due to sin
because sin begets sin; unless a sin is
rectified, it will destroy every person
perpetuating it.
And that is why we have to love our enemies;
it is for practical reasons too because to return evil
for evil increases evil and sin.
Only love can stop sin and all the follies
of mankind.

Today, dear God, help me to bring more
love in this world, to bring more peace
and mercy to stop the spread of evil and
sin further.  Amen.