Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15
How Can I Determine If I Am Attached To Something?
“Selfish clingings position us in a spiritual fog hindering our supernatural vision. It then becomes difficult to discern between what is a legitimate desire and what is an inordinate attachment. The following questions may help us in our honest self-knowledge:
Am I using created things in excess of my real needs? Example: How many pairs of shoes do I have as opposed to how many I need? We can apply this to any material possession. How many hours do I spend viewing TV?
Do I use things for the purpose for which they were intended? Example: If my employer provides me with a computer for my work, do I spend time in using it for personal e-mail, needless internet surfing or entertainment (assuming there is a policy against such use)?
Do I make persons or things ends in themselves rather than as means to an end? Example: Is my relationship with another the way by which my own needs are provided for more than my concern for the good of the other?
In responding to the above as regards my relationships and my use of things, am I more drawn to God through them and do they cause me to think of Him more frequently? Am I led to deeper prayer as a result?
Identifying inordinate attachments, recognizing them in oneself, and addressing them through a practical plan of detachment enables one to experience a greater freedom and to be open to the gifts that God wishes to lavish on us.”
Carmen Laudis blogpost on 9 October 2012.