As we make our way through life, most of us give far more thought and effort to satisfying our vanity than we realize. This morning, is it vanity that calls me to sit and write of Catholic Fundamentalism’s approach to God, creation, and us in it? In a way, even thinking that one of us free will programs can attempt to know The Loving Programmer’s will and do it is vanity. So is thinking that we may have a slight grasp of Him, Who created all.
Yesterday, I was working with a piece of heavy machinery, a large, 40 hp brush-cutting mower that could cut saplings two or three inches thick. I thought that the silent, spinning blade had been turned off, and missed having my fingers removed by a fraction of an inch while trying to shift the mower. This morning, typing this, I realized the enormity of the severing I barely missed.
I type each letter with the realization that I nearly could never type again. My gratitude to my guardian angel knows no bounds. Each one of us, every day, driving, riding, and walking is close to death and disfigurement. (In yesterday’s case, “disfingerment”).
Being aware of the nearness of disaster keeps us grateful and provides an ongoing check on the destructive power of our own vanity.
