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News and views from the German-language region of Europe

January 28, 2011

Spiritual sensitivity

Filed under Sabbath Thoughts

There are medical conditions that destroy nerves, such as leprosy, injuries to the spinal cord and diabetes, to name a few.

Such conditions are among the most difficult to treat because of the loss of sensitivity in the affected area.

For example, without a sense of touch or pain – the result of a loss of sensitivity – a person can get a bedsore by lying in the same position too long, never sensing the discomfort that a bedsore brings. Or a person who has lost sensitivity in his feet may develop blisters on his feet by wearing uncomfortable socks or shoes and never realize it until the condition has developed.

The lack of sensitivity that these conditions cause means that the body no longer warns of dangers by sensing pain.

Much more important than our body’s sensitivity via the nervous system is our sense of spiritual sensitivity.

The apostle Paul warns us about the loss of proper moral sensitivity. Writing to the Ephesians, he describes the Gentiles as "having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (Ephesians 4:18-19).

Moral insensitivity can lead to a hardening of the heart toward God and His way of life, a condition that can prove fatal.

Paul exhorts us: "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk" (Ephesians 4:17). In other words, we have to be on guard against accepting the moral standards of the world.

Let’s maintain the proper functioning of our spiritual nervous system so we don’t become insensitive to the pain caused by sin.

With these thoughts I wish us all a rewarding Sabbath!

Paul Kieffer's blog with personal insights and news from the German-language region in Europe.

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