The Aggregate

I am a composite, a conglomerate, a recipe of diverse consumption.  I am a loaf sliced by the sharp edge of family tradition, peer pressure, secular education, and church doctrine.  Media noise and oratorical argument cloud my mind.  I view Scripture through a lifetime lens of preconceived ideas.  Claiming verses for my own solace, I codify them into law, spew forth "great spiritual truths," and assemble dusty dogma.  In so doing I "prove" my doctrine correct, my creed certain, and my actions justified.  

Working in feeble power and programed intelligence 
I have attempted to quench my thirst from a polluted well. In the presence of an overflowing cornucopia, 
I pass up morsels that convict of sin or challenge to action.  Engorging savory delicacies of easy digestion, I slink into the pathetic couch of slothful inertia.  Such is the life of a spiritual couch potato-me.

How may I correct so severe a malady, to allow the Holy Spirit to impress upon on my mental clay the wondrous mysteries of a great and glorious God?  
How do I stand barefoot on firm, holy ground, lest 
I mire in quicksand of my own design? He alone holds the bowl of satiating sustenance, devoid of fat, mixed of divine ingredients in proper blend


Have I totally surrendered my motives to the will of God?  Or do I set out to prove a premise, delving 
into scripture just far enough to guarantee that I am correct.  Do I "tempt" the Lord by using Him for my convenience?  Have I convinced myself of great knowledge only to find that I remain a scrawny suckling of truth?  Or do I learn from the example of Christ and the apostles, avoiding any personal gain from its use.  I must examine myself very carefully. This is an insidious tendency, one that others may recognize while I remain blinded. 

GW Yeatman