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We have a distorted view of how to deal with the darkness within our souls don't we? Issues like lust, anger, resentment, covetousness, sloth, driveness, etc. surface in our lives and we quietly and quickly push them down, hoping that no one will notice. But when will we realize that trying to keep these things down in that way is like trying to keep a bunch of corks from floating to the surface of a lake, with a hammer, while treading water. It doesn't matter how quick you are they will all eventually pop back up to the surface.

I wonder why we respond this way to our sin? Maybe it's because we are told all our lives that these things are bad (sinful, evil), so when they surface it somehow makes us think we are bad and evil. If we believe that "good Christians" don't deal with these things, then we will forever go into hiding everytime these things come up in our lives. But to hide them or to push the issues down; does that remove them from our lives? No it doesn't. I think we have all experienced that reality. It just makes us into just a bunch of posers, fakers and wanna-be's. Shame makes us do some pretty crazy things, and never bears true and lasting fruit. So maybe we're going about this thing the wrong way? Maybe we need to have a different perspective when these dark issues surface in our lives? Maybe they are actually a gift to us? Maybe they have the potential to lead us to greater freedom, if we just drop our hammers and swim to shore. Rather than allow shame to rule the day, let's be kind to our inner enemies, and simply invite Jesus into it.

For more on this read Henri Nouwen below on being kind to our inner enemies.

How do we befriend our inner enemies lust and anger? By listening to what they are saying. They say, "I have some unfulfilled needs" and "Who really loves me?" Instead of pushing our lust and anger away as unwelcome guests, we can recognize that our anxious, driven hearts need some healing. Our restlessness calls us to look for the true inner rest where lust and anger can be converted into a deeper way of loving.

There is a lot of unruly energy in lust and anger! When that energy can be directed toward loving well, we can transform not only ourselves but even those who might otherwise become the victims of our anger and lust. This takes patience, but it is possible.