Several years, in commenting on the decor, our lack thereof, in my classroom, the principal at the school at which I was teaching, labeled me as "spartan" in my approach to decorating. That didn't seem like a bad thing to me at the time, but now looking back I don't believe he was exactly accurate.
The idea of being Spartan is about non extravagance. It's about living with only what is necessary. It's about no frills. While those types of things were true about me, the motivation is what was different.
One big aspect of Orthodoxy is that of focusing on the eternal and disregarding the temporal, worldly and trite. As we continue in our sanctification, we fight against the desire of the flesh to rule over us. We are striving to continually deepen our relationship with Christ, to the point of minimizing ourselves and becoming more like Christ.
This is one reason why the Eucharist is so important and central to our faith. The Eucharist is communion with God. The more we center our lives around the life of the Church, the closer we will draw into Christ.
Probably the most difficult aspect of trying to be "Spartan" is trying to figure what it means for you, and learning to see our own weaknesses. It's easy to see the weaknesses in others, but much more difficult to see ourselves.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Spartan or ?
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