How many times do we get discouraged and give up? Probably more than we would like to answer. It's especially true when it comes to living virtuously. Why is it the case that when it comes to living a virtuous life that we get so easily discouraged?I was reading an excerpt from The Life of Moses by Gregory of Nyssa. It was a good read. He puts Paul's words about running a race into a more philosophical perspective. Here's a smaller portion:
"Coming to a stop in the race was not safe for [Paul]. Why? Because no Good has a limit in its own nature but is limited by the presence of its opposite, as life is limited by death and light by darkness. And every good thing generally ends with all those things which are perceived to be contrary to the good. Just as the end of life is the beginning of death, so also stopping in the race of virtue marks the beginning of the race of evil."
He goes on to say that we strive for perfection, which we cannot attain. Perfection is limitless just as God is limitless because God is Perfection. This is why it can be a struggle to continue the race of virtue. How can one be expected to run a race when an end is never in sight? It sounds pretty depressing. However, Ol' Greg give us some hope: "For in the case of those things which are good by nature, even if men of understanding were not able to attain everything, by attaining even a part they could gain a great deal." There you have it. Our goal is not to make it to the finish (which is unattainable as corporeal meatsacks) but simply to run. As Greg says, "For the perfection of human nature consists perhaps in its very growth in goodness."
May you run with great zeal, knowing that your perfection in virtue comes with each step and not by crossing the finish line.
