Are You Infected by Spiritual Cancer?

In our physical body, cancer represents the life which is not governed by order and the result of disharmony between the cells of the body. Cancer is like a parasite. Parasites feed off a host body in order to survive. Similarly, cancer cells consider the body as a host, which they exploit ruthlessly to achieve their goals.

​Many people live a long and healthy physical life, but spiritually suffer. And most suffer because of pride and ego. 

In the spiritual world, C.S. Lewis considered pride to be a spiritual cancer. 

“For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”
― C.S. Lewis

Pride is defined as, "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc." It's sister words in the world of vocabulary include conceit, egotism, vanity and vainglory. 

Most people who have pride are also either self-absorbed or selfish. Typically, the world revolves around them, their problems, their accomplishments, their ego and their life. Pride has always been a problem in humanity, but with social media, it's even easier today to blast their pride worldwide. Pride are arrogance are the perfect marriage to pull people away from faith in God. 

Pride is the opposite of humility. It is easy to get caught in the head during rough times, but many people find trials and tribulations as failures or bitterness towards their faith. Life is not easy and it will never be one-hundred percent peaceful or perfect. We need to realize life is like the ocean, ebbs and flows of good and tough times. 

Hebrews 10:32-36 New Life Version (NLV)
32 Remember how it was in those days after you heard the truth. You suffered much. 33 People laughed at you and beat you. When others suffered, you suffered with them. 34 You had loving-pity for those who were in prison. You had joy when your things were taken away from you. For you knew you would have something better in heaven which would last forever. 35 Do not throw away your trust, for your reward will be great. 36 You must be willing to wait without giving up. After you have done what God wants you to do, God will give you what He promised you.

Many times people see God as a Genie, which is false.  And when the Genie does not grant wishes, many people lose faith during rough times. Many people say, "When I needed God the most, he wasn't there. Why?" Maybe in that moment of weakness or sadness, God was trying to teach you a lesson. 

Losing faith in God, is like a spreading cancer. Each day or moment when you lose faith, the body's disharmony increases. Life is full of peaks and valleys. If in the valley, you must trust with God coupled with your actions you will rise back to the top of the mountain. 

Growing affection for money, lust and worldly desires while decreasing your faith in God is a recipe for disaster. 

Feeding the flesh in materialism and worldly fame and desires is like a spiritual cancer. Humans are conditional and corruptible and desire growth, just like capitalism. Without growth, capitalism cannot exist. To some degree, many people's cravings grow just like a corporation. Like upgrading a car, most people are not satisfied with what they own. 

​They constantly want more. This craving snowballs and most people cannot satisfy this desire. Money and worldly desires go hand in hand because many people must sell their soul in order to obtain the worldly desires they crave. 

​Most of the world's suffering is the result of people's poor behaviors, which affects other people and cultures. We need money to survive. But it's the worshipping that causes one to lose their faith. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Tim. 6:10).

“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground.” (Obad 1:3)

Those whose lives spiral out of control with lust, greed, and desire will eventually "fail" or hit rock bottom. Even King Belshazzar experienced this, “when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.” (Dan 5:20)

Many people who crave God often deny his guidance because of fear or lack of faith. Stubbornness and unwillingness to change will keep people stuck in the same issues and patterns. 

Understanding "spiritual cancer" is to bring light to the psycho-somatic behaviors and worldly desires that one struggles with in life. 

The more we shed our ego, our worldly desires and increase our trust in God, the "better" our lives not only because of our faith, but living selflessly through minimalistic principles. Many spiritual theories believe in simple living. Live simply. Love unconditionally. And trust in God.   

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