Approaching the West — Page 111
A pproaching the West—111 weaknesses. Full trust in God’s love, seeking His help through prayers, and by taking the needed remedial measures, one can trounce sinfulness! Love and fear of God play an important role in shunning sinful inclinations, and to overcome evil temptations. To shun sinfulness, one should always keep in mind that death is a certainty, and one day our earthly life is sure to end; and then, after death, there is certainly accountability before God for all our actions. Those who do not believe in Hereafter, tend to become bold in committing sins. Once a person is fully convinced that there is an Almighty God watching over him/her, and Who would punish him/her for his misdeeds, then it becomes rather difficult to disobey Him. Once the deadly nature of sin is realized with full certainty that it is like a poison for the soul, consequently leading to a tormented spiritual death, then naturally man would desist from committing it! To have certainty and complete faith in the existence of God, to have full knowledge of His powers, and to realize one's accountability to Him in the Hereafter, are the main factors that help us to retain our righteousness and piety. Once the heart becomes fully drenched in the Greatness and Glory of God, no one dares to break His Law. But if one holds dearer someone other than God in one’s heart, then the misplaced love leads to sin. God is often replaced by our love for the self, uncontrolled gratification of natural urges, or material gains of this life. In short, any thing that keeps us away from God’s love, mercy and grace, can be called sin! Nevertheless, even when we lose His love, there are ways to regain and absorb God’s love, grace and mercy.