Whether I want it, or not?

[Ignatius21]

I have a small prayer book containing morning and evening prayers. In it, is a prayer of St. John of Damascus, containing these words:

...I know indeed, Lord, that I am not worthy of your love towards mankind, but rather of every condemnation and torment. But save me, Lord, whether I want it or not...

A link to another translation of this prayer is here: Phos Hilaron: Prayer of St John of Damascus

What do you make of those words

 

[rusmeister]

I make a slight error of expression.

We OUGHT to want salvation, to be saved. If we DON'T want it, something is damnably wrong with us.

 

[ArmyMatt]

maybe also because our wants come and go

 

[truefiction1]

I'd attribute the expression to the determinism of human emotion (which operates beneath the level of our conscious control) and its power to thwart our conscious determinations. The more we follow our tendency to overlook/deny our own "creature", or animal nature and its survival ensuring, evolutionary instincts, the more confused we'll be about a variety of things (for instance, whether or not sexual pleasure is good (a necessity provided us in nature) or bad (i.e. selfish and destructive lust).

 

[Steinbeck]

If one is praying the prayer, if one is doing what one can to give that little bit to God, one obviously wants to be saved. But, of course, one also falls into sins. One's desire for God is inconstant. So, we pray that God save us despite our inconstant desire for Him, because though be be sinners, in that we have no other God than Him, we have not shown ourselves undecided.

 

[Cappadocious]

The Spirit wants one thing, the flesh wants another.

 

[buzuxi02]

The Spirit wants one thing, the flesh wants another.

Quite true. This prayer definately sounds like its tailor made for the 21st century. Most people today don't see the virtue in being saved. You won't get anyone to change by saying in heaven they will dine with St George and St John of Shanghai and they will listen to really good gregorian and greek chant.

Its like these t-shirts that's say, "good girls go to heaven but bad girls go everwhere." Many especially the newer generations are inclined towards the dark side.

 

[Cappadocious]

To be fair, their understanding of heaven as a benign soul corral is rather off-putting.