We Should Listen to God and Not to Self

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It’s Fénelon Friday!

LETTER 25: We Should Listen to God and Not to Self

I beg you not to listen to self. Self-love whispers in one ear and the love of God in the other. Self-love is always worthless, aggressive, grasping, and impulsive. But the love of God is so different. It is simple, peaceful, and speaks but a few words in a mild and gentle voice. And the moment we decide to start listening to the voice of self screeching its complaints in our ear, we can no longer hear the more modest whisperings of divine love. You can always tell when self is speaking. Self always wants to entertain itself and never feels sufficiently well attended to. It talks of friendship, regard, esteem, and does not wish to hear anything thing that is not flattering. The love of God, on the other hand, desires that self should be forgotten, that it should be counted as nothing, that God might be all in all. God knows that it is best for us when self is trampled under foot and broken as an idol, in order that He might live within us, and make us after His will.

So let that vain, complaining babbler—self-love—be silenced, that in the stillness of the soul we may listen to God.

Francis Fénelon, Let Go (New Kensington, PA: Whittaker House, 1973).

23 Comments

    1. Ditto James. As Charlie Jones used to say, our best thinking is the reason we are in the mess we are in. There is a lot of truth to that. Fénelon seems to have been given uncommon honesty and clarity into the nature of the natural self. He is always a good read.

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      1. I am not that familiar with his work but I will check some of it out as soon as I have time.

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          2. I first got into eBooks because of this little book. I have given away more print copies than I can count. I finally realized that if I had a kindle vision I would never be without a copy. It is well worth the few dollars it costs. Everybody needs a little Fénelon! lol!

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          3. My wife just asked me what I wanted for Christmas, maybe I will put that on the list. Books are a very popular gift in our house

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  2. Dan and Isaiah 53:5 Project,

    Here is an important quote of Fenelon’s. It’s difficult to find the truth in English language places but Timothy F. Kauffman at Out of His Mouth Blog has done some homework.

    “The badly converted Huguenots are attached to their religion to the most horrible excesses of stubbornness; but as soon as the rigor of punishments appears, all their strength leaves them. … these are cowardly against force…” — ‪François Fénelon, March 8, 1686

    You can find more explained at the post in which the quote appeared:

    http://www.whitehorseblog.com/2014/11/16/lintolerance-de-fenelon/

    Please don’t be kasnookered or do the work of the Counter-Reformation for them.

    Maria

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    1. Fair enough. But don’t be “kasnookered” (what a great word!) by Kauffman’s article either. He is very one sided and is only citing quotes that fit his agenda. Nor should our opinion of a man be based on what he said in his youth without regard for what he said in his old age. In 1711 he wrote “Above all never force your subjects to change their religion. No human power can penetrate the last defenses of the human heart. Men can never be convinced by force, it only creates hypocrites. When kings meddle with religion, instead of protecting it, they enslave it.” (From Fenelon’s Examination of Conscience on the Duties of Royalty, to Duc de Bourgogne). Also, what in this letter, is not Scriptural or good Christian practice? I do not see how this letter–or any of the ones I have posted on my blog by Fénelon–somehow undermine my Protestantism in general or my Reformed Orthodoxy in particular.

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      1. Dan, thank you for responding! In this post you published this statement of Fenelon’s (its date we don’t know):

        “God knows that it is best for us when self is trampled under foot and broken as an idol, in order that He might live within us, and make us after His will.”

        Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, not as the result of our trampling our selfishness underfoot. Is his statement orthodox?

        Those of the Reformed faith who lived then would have forgiven Fenelon’s mistreatment but counseled us to avoid his teaching, from whatever period of his life. As a Roman Catholic priest he celebrated Mass – how can he have the wisdom that is in Jesus Christ to share?

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        1. You are assuming that it is not possible to be a Catholic priest and have a personal relationship with Jesus. Salvation is by having a personal relationship with Jesus through faith, not by creed or tradition. Lousy theology does not equate to not saved. Self–that is selfishness, or the old nature is something we are often told to fight against in Scripture. For instance Ephesians 4:20-24 (NIV),
          “That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
          There is nothing in here that is not repeated by Edwards, Spurgeon, or even in Oswald Chambers’ best selling devotional My Utmost for His Highest.

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  4. Dan, just to be clear, I’m not saying that a Catholic priest cannot be a Christian but that we should not promote priests as teachers.
    Why do you promote him? If as you say, these things can be found in God’s Word (not really), Spurgeon and Edwards? Only the Lord can show you why this is wrong and endangers God’s children.
    Sorry – so sorry!

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    1. I am sorry we do not agree on this Maria. Humility and the mortification of self (being our old nature) are very biblical and big themes in Reformed Orthodoxy. You’re problem seems to be that he is Catholic and therefore not to be trusted. I am not a Baptist, Wesleyan, or Pentecostal, but does that mean I cannot learn from those who are–even though we may disagree on what is serious stuff to me? Things that I think have done great harm to the Church? Should we not read Augustine, Anselm, or Aquinas because they were Catholic? Baalam was cursed by God still spoke truth through him. And the difference between Baalam and Fénelon is great. The Puritans read and recommended Fénelon while he was still living. When it came to his Catholicism I am sure they thought him wrong, but when it came to his practice of piety and recommendation of humility and submission before God they appreciated him. I am ready to agree to disagree with you on this my sister, but I wonder if you might be throwing out the baby with the bathwater as they say.

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      1. Dan, it’s difficult to trust Catholic prelates who lived after the Reformation and worked diligently to undermine it. Aren’t you concerned by what he did in separating families?

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        1. Things could have been much worse and would have been if they had got someone else. My post (I promise you there there really is one in the works) will show this. That article of you friends is very jaded and does not deal with much of the historical material. For instance, if he were so devoted to forcing protestants to convert, why was he looked down upon by his fellow priests and bishops for not being so?

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  5. Dan, this senior lady – me – has a tremor and I inadvertently touched the follow button and unsubscribed. When you see me follow, understand.
    I’m looking forward to learning from your post. Thank you!

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