Spiritual wounds come from small transgressions

IF YOU CUT yourself by accident, what do you do? Even though it’s not serious, you notice that you’re bleeding. You clean the wound.

Then you get a cloth and press, trying to stop the bleeding. You pour some alcohol on the wound to disinfect it. If you need stitches, you go to a doctor.

Something similar happens in spiritual life. For example, a husband and wife may disagree on how to use some money. They normally get along. Today, after talking for a while, they start arguing.

They use a few ugly words in the heat of the moment. The wife tells her husband how stupid he is. He responds by calling her names. The argument ends with one of them walking away and slamming doors. Once they have calmed down, they regret having yelled at each other.

If you ever get caught in this kind of situation, it leaves a spiritual wound in your soul. Did you do it deliberately? No. When you got out of bed, you had no plan to yell at anybody, much less your spouse.

Was the argument serious? Yes and no. Yes, because tension remains. No, because you still love each other.

You might fool yourself, believing no real harm was done. After all, neither one of you used any physical violence.

In fact, it never even crossed your mind to do so. And yet, in your heart of hearts, you know you would be lying to yourself if you insisted on the idea that no harm was done.

This is a typical example of a spiritual wound. You didn’t break any of the Ten Commandments. All the same, you remember the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard how it was said to our ancestors: You shall not kill; and if anyone does kill, he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it...”

If a wound gets infected, it can cripple you. It won’t happen immediately. It festers. If nothing is done to heal the wound, gangrene eventually sets in and fever consumes you. What started small becomes overwhelming.

Spiritual wounds are the same. They need to be healed before they cause further harm.

When it comes time to examine your conscience and repent, pay attention to those apparently “small” transgressions of anger and pride. Many times, being sorry means learning how to say: “I’m sorry.” If you find that difficult, ask Jesus to help you do it. Remember that the wound hurts him, too, because you offend him whenever you offend your neighbour: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, so you do unto me.”