I read a daily meditation sent out by email every morning sent out by the Center for Action and Contemplation. A few weeks ago, it mentioned that sin was defined by St. Gregory of Nyssa as "the refusal to stop growing." I like that. I think, too often, we come to a place where because we are not intentionally doing something wrong, we feel like we're beyond reproach.

Being a parent, I can see right through that argument. Finley is a good kid, and it isn't often she acts in blatant disobedience. But the fact is, she has a lot of room for improvement. Take, for example, her habit of walking into the house and dropping her coat and shoes wherever she happens to take them off. She isn't intentionally dropping things on the floor to thumb her nose at me, and it wouldn't be right to burden her with some big guilt trip... but she needs to grow up and learn to act in a responsible way.

With adults, bad habits are often mental... attitudes or ways of thinking... There is a saying that we are either growing or dying. I like that, too.