Three Main Causes
Thinking Mistakenly
♦ If you are standing on the rock of faith and have come close to the level of spirit, then no specific form of evil is outwardly apparent in you. You don't act in any untruth. You don't disobey the Word of God, nor do you neglect your duties. But, because you pray to, love and trust God, and long for spirit, you could mistakenly think you are doing well.
However, you may not be perfect in God's sight in many respects. Although you say you obey God, at times in God's sight you disobeyed. You think you practice goodness; however it is what you see as goodness. Sometimes fleshly ways of thinking are agitated, and because you know that you are absolutely correct about something, you cannot see what is not right about it.
Deficiencies of the Body
♦ Deficiencies of the body refer to the state where you lack the basic ability because you haven't gone through the steps you should have gone through in your growth process. If you still have such deficiencies in some aspects they can hinder you from entering into spirit.
Since deficiencies of the body are developed and hardened as habits you may find it difficult to discover them by yourself. Though you become aware of them, you may find it hard to correct them. For instance, you may allow doors to slam shut or close them using your foot. You may make noises or spill your food while eating. Perhaps you stomp or shuffle your feet while walking. You may make a mess when visiting others or leave things lying around everywhere you go. Following proper etiquette can fill many such deficiencies.
There are more serious deficiencies of the body. You may not pay attention to others or interrupt them while they are talking. You might not be able to understand from the standpoint of other people. It shows a self-centered manner and lack of consideration of others.
People who have such deficiencies of heart, actions, and thinking lack the ability to function normally in regular social life or personal interrelationships. They also give difficulties or cause discomfort to others or may cause others to stumble.
Arrogance
♦ Arrogance is categorized into two types: fleshly arrogance and spiritual arrogance. You may have remnant fleshly arrogance but the bigger problem is spiritual arrogance. Spiritual arrogance isn't easy for you to find by yourself. You will definitely cast it away once you realize something comes from arrogance. But the problem is that you can't see it yourself. If you think 'this is right' according to the spiritual knowledge you have acquired, it may lead to spiritual arrogance. Thus, you must be able to discern correctly between good and evil based on the truth and examine yourself thoroughly to keep from becoming self-righteousness.
Practical Examples
1. Due to a Lack of Spiritual Love
You may lack spiritual love due to your strong sense of 'self'. Because you have a strong ego you may be short of spiritual love with which you can humble yourself and love and serve others. You may still have strong self-frameworks of personality and desire to flaunt yourself.
In order to discover yourself and change, you need to see yourself from an objective point of view. But, with a strong sense of 'self' it is not easy. To the extent you fill your heart with spiritual love you can cast off your 'self'.
2. Due to a Strong Sense of Self-centeredness
If you have put yourself at the center of your life, you may lack love for others. Lacking in spiritual love you believe your own knowledge, experiences, and what you think are right which prevents you from feeling compassion or shedding tears for others.
It shows that the way you have built your 'self' is no less important than your innate inner heart. If you lived a self-centered life without properly receiving love from others, you could have strong sense of 'self' even after accepting the Lord.
To break this sense of self, you have to manage your life in the opposite manner. That is, you have to earnestly humble yourself, serve others, and fill your heart with the love of the Lord and God. Then, you can give spiritual love to others and understand and embrace their hearts, positions, and even their pain.
3. Due to Remaining Jealousy and Envy
You may feel jealousy and envy not only when you hate somebody but also when you are disappointed and discouraged by comparing yourself with others. If you want to reveal your merits rather than having others acknowledged or feel uncomfortable with those who are different from you, the feelings may be caused by jealousy or envy in your original nature. Worse yet, your feelings may be revealed in your facial expressions.
You should find such jealousy and envy hidden deep inside your original nature. Only after pulling them out completely can you enter spirit. You have to seek others' benefits, rejoice with the truth from your heart, and feel happier when others are better-off than when you are. You have to achieve this kind of heart and offer up this fragrance of goodness to God.
4. Due to Fleshly Passions and Greed
Galatians 5:24 says, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Only after casting off fleshly passions and desires can we enter spirit. We can then enjoy true happiness that comes only through spiritual love.
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