QUICK! You Are Almost Out of Time!
Our whole stupid fallen world is bent on praising your fallen nature and demonizing the struggle you must engage in if you are to be happy. "You be you" is bad advice because you are an idiot. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. - CCC 2339
How do we get serious about this. One way, is to remember our death.
You are going to die. And everyone you know will die. And just like most people cannot give you the name of their great grandfather; people, very soon, will not remember you. More than that. In order to be forgotten you must first be known. But very soon. Sooner than you think, you will not be known by anyone.
Right now. And only now, you have a decision to make. The world, or Christ? The world offers comfort which leads to Hell. Christ offers self-denial which leads to glory. Choose. To not choose is to choose. There’s no third option. Lord Jesus Christ, help me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brethren.
Just as Pharaoh assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. The world assigns taskmasters over us—our irrational passions which oppress us and tell us to thank them for it. As the true God liberated his people from the false god of Pharaoh, Christ liberates us from the world, the flesh, and the Devil. God, save us, Christ, from effeminacy—the refusal to struggle for what is good.
Here and only here is the solution to our current predicament:
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Gregory the Great reflecting on this writes, “A cruel yoke and hard weight of servitude it is to be subject to the things of time, to be ambitious of the things of earth, to cling to falling things, to seek to stand in things that stand not, to desire things that pass away, but to be unwilling to pass away with them.” He emphasizes the paradox of Christ’s burden, saying, “What burden is it to put upon the neck of our mind that He bids us shun all desire that disturbs, and turn from the toilsome paths of this world?”
WHAT THEN ARE WE TO DO!
Repent manfully! Be more concerned with your sins than your neighbor’s.
Play! Play is a virtue. It relaxes the mind and body. But often our play isn’t play. It is distraction and avoidance and wicked. Rest takes work. Business is laziness. Passions are good when directed by reason and informed by faith and can be evil when they are not.
Strive to love what is good! This really sums it all up, doesn’t it. The reason you are miserable is because you do not love and hate what you should love and hate. Strive to get this right! Again, our passions ought to be directed by the intellect informed by faith."Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Philippians 4:8
HURRY!