Vanity on Fire / 虚荣之火

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Dexu Xia

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Jul 1, 2019, 11:10:16 PM7/1/19

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Vanity on Fire

Create in me a pure heart, O God. Psalm 51:10

In February 1497, a Monk named Girolamo Savonarola started a fire. Leading up to this, he and his followers spent several months collecting items that they thought might entice people to sin or neglect their religious duties—including artwork, cosmetics, instruments, and dresses. On the appointed day, thousands of vanity items were gathered at a public square in Florence, Italy, and set on fire. The event has come to be known as the Bonfire of the Vanities.

Savonarola might have found inspiration for his extreme actions in some shocking statements from the Sermon on the Mount. “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away,” said Jesus. “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29–30). But if we interpret Jesus’s words literally, we miss the point of the message. The entire sermon is a lesson on going deeper than the surface, to focus on the state of our hearts rather than blaming our behavior on external distractions and temptations.

The Bonfire of the Vanities made a great show of destroying belongings and works of art, but it is unlikely that the hearts of those involved were changed in the process. Only God can change a heart. That’s why the psalmist prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). It’s our heart that counts.

Reflect & Pray

What behaviors or distractions might be on your list of “vanities”? How do you try to “manage” them?

Holy God, please give me the grace to surrender my heart to You and yield my life’s vanities to the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit.

虚荣之火

上帝啊，求祢为我造清洁的心。-诗篇51篇10节

在1497年2月的某一天，修士吉罗拉莫·萨佛纳罗拉（Girolama Savonarola）在意大利佛罗伦斯的广场上点起熊熊烈火。他和跟随者花了几个月的时间，收集了他们认为会令人犯罪或忽略宗教职责的物品，包括艺术品、化妆品、乐器和衣服。就在这一天，他们将数千件会引发虚荣心的物品堆积在一个广场上，然后焚烧殆尽。这起事件被称为“虚荣之火”。

萨佛纳罗拉的极端行为或许是因为登山宝训中某些令人惊讶的教导，就像耶稣说：“若是你的右眼叫你跌倒，就剜出来丢掉，……若是右手叫你跌倒，就砍下来丢掉”（马太福音5章29-30节）。如果我们仅按字面的意思来诠释，则难免错失这信息的重点，耶稣的这篇信息其实是要告诉我们：不要只看表面，而是要关注我们内心的光景；不可将自己错误的行为，全都归咎于外界的诱惑和试探。

虚荣之火虽然声势浩大地烧毁了许多奢侈品和艺术品，但那些参与者的心思意念却未必因此而改变。只有上帝才能改变人心，怪不得诗人会祷告说：“上帝啊，求祢为我造清洁的心”（诗篇51篇10节）。心思意念的改变，才是真正的转变！

亲爱的主，求祢向我施恩，使我的心能降服于祢，
并恳求圣灵洁净的火，将我内心的虚荣焚烧殆尽。