Exhortations
Recently, I have read an old piece of Chinese literature written in an old Chinese font from the Sung Dynasty.
One of the paragraphs particularly intrigues me.
It talks about a man who was in great distress because he had fallen into the snares of temptations and had suffered a lot. He then sought help from his teacher, who was a Taoist priest. In order to ease the man’s pain, his teacher gave him some advice.
The advice was as follows:
- Lengthy and verbose conversations trouble our minds, so keep them short and concise, or forget them altogether.
- Arrogance and pride come from an affluent life; self-effacement and humility are more
- Exhaustion comes from heavy work for fame and wealth; we should rest at the right time.
- Apart from your wife, always thinking about other women will disturb your emotional balance, it is better to remain faithful to your only beloved.
- Excessive joy and anger harm our inner peace, so we should empty ourselves and remain
- Meat and alcohol can affect our health; we are advised not to consume them excessively.
- States of grief and ecstasy shorten life and therefore should be avoided.
- Lust is harmful to life, so it is better to be abstemious.
I find these pieces of advice are quite aligned with the teachings of the Bible:
“If you are guided by the Spirit, you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence.
When self-indulgence is at work, the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility, idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, faction, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things… those who behave like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:16, 19-21)
The temptations of today are no different from those in the old days.
Enticements lurk everywhere in our daily lives, disguised in various forms to trap people.
However, if we trust in God, who suffered on the Holy Cross to redeem the world, and follow His teachings and guidance through reading the Bible, we may be able to escape sin and break free from all these snares. Otherwise, we may lose the true meaning and joy of life.
Pwy Peggy
April 2026
