Galatians - 5, 16

Galatians - 5, 16

Learn to live and move in the Spirit; then there is no danger of your giving way to the impulses of a corrupt nature.

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What are the impulses of a corrupt nature? They are the things that make us less human than we are meant to be and make us treat other people badly.

For instance, when I'm angry, I often bitterly regret what I've said afterwards. St Benedict, in his Rule for monks, speaks of not acting “as anger urges”, and this is exactly what happens when I let my anger take over and shout all the hurtful words it makes me want to say.

But when I let the Holy Spirit into my mind, it is the Spirit who speaks in me, not my anger, and then I will begin to act, not as anger urges, but as the Spirit urges, so that I will become more and more the person I'm really meant to be.