OBSTACLES TO THE

LORDSHIP OF JESUS
“In the first chapter of this book, The meaning
of Christ Lordship,” we came to know that
Jesus will only come to rule our lives if we
surrender ourselves to Him.
We know that this is the only way; but we
also know that many people find it real
hard to surrender themselves to Jesus.
What is holding them back?
We may have various reasons but usually,
these are our
INORDINATE ATTACHMENTS.
What is an inordinate attachments?
 The word “inordinate” “means not in order”
An inordinate attachment, therefore, is that
attachment which is not in order. It is not in
conformity with the order established by God.
.

Attachment is normal to man. For

instance,children are by nature Attached to
their parents and vise versa; possessions or
to his accustomed environment.
.

There is actually nothing wrong about

these attachments because they are willed
by God. What makes it wrong or inordinate
is when they draw us away from GOD.
Such attachments may be classified into
attachment to persons, to places, and to
things. It really does not matter whether
we are attached to just one or all of
them. The fact we are still attached.
. We are tied down to it, just like a dog
tied down to a post. Like such dog, we
can go only as far as the length of the
chain or rope that ties us down
If we are attached, we can not go all
the way in surrendering ourselves to
the Lord.
Illustration:
Inordinate Attachment to
persons, places, things - +Jesus
You can only go as far as the length of
the chain.)
ATTACHMENT TO PERSONS
Who are the persons to whom we can be
inordinately attached?
 There are many but I believe, we can line them up into:
1.Family relations
2Business or Occupational associates
Social relations
3.
4 Family relations:
 Listen to what Jesus says in Luke14: 26:
“ If anyone comes to me without turning his
back on his father and mother, his wife and
children, his brothers, sisters and his very self,
he can not be my follower.”
 What is the Lord telling us, here?

That we can be inordinately attached to our

relatives. And he enumerates them: parents, wife
children, brothers, sisters and even our very selves.
It is very easy for us to be attached to these people
because they are already existing natural ties.
 No wonder the Lord gives us a very strong
reminder: We can not be his followers if we are
not ready to turn back to them when the
situation warrants it as the only way to follow
him.
How can we know we are
inordinately attached to our
relatives?
By its manifestation. For example:
a. We become bias in our judgment because th e
people involved are our relatives. Our minds
become blinded to the truth. For example, we just
condemn people without proper investigation
because their opponents are our relatives.
b. We neglect to do our duties of checking an
evil like, cheating, corruption and other abuses
because the people doing them are our relatives.
C. Somebody stops doing what he used to do
before as a Christian like, rendering a specific
service or apostolate, praying regularly, going to
mass and other devotions because his partner ,
wife or husband, or relative does not want them.
BUSINESS OR OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATES:
These are the people we have to associate
With to earn a living, they can be our partners in
business or in the practice of our profession. They
can also be our business connections or customers.
 Actually, there is nothing wrong with being
related to or associated with people in business
and in the practice of our profession.
That’s part of life; we have to relate
with people. But then it should be
ordinate which means, God is on top
of all these relationships.
What makes it bad and inordinate is when
we begin to prefer them to God, like:
a. When they ask for things that are not of
God we do not refuse because we are more
after the big business deal with them than
God,
 b. When we just keep on giving way
to their sinful demands because we can
not afford to lose them as customers;
c.When we just tolerate the unchristian
or even sinful, unjust, dishonest
And immoral practices in business
because they have been long our
business associates or connections…
etc…
SOCIAL RELATIONS:
They can be our friends, fellow worker, co-employees, boss in the job or people we
associate with in our recreations, civic or religious activities. In short, these are the
people we associate with regularly in life. To them also we can be inordinately
attached.
 In what way? Surely, there are many ways. Let
me just site a few of them:
a) When you long to be with theto the extent of
depriving your family, you wife, your children of
the time that you ought to spend with thm:
“barkada”, gambling companions, etc…
 with them: “barkada”, gambling companions,
etc…
a) When you begin to fail your duties and
responsibilities in the Lord because you are with
them. They don’t go to church so you also don’t
go to church, etc
a) When you become tolerant of their evil practices
and even cater to their immoral request because
they are your superiors or big bosses in the job or
because they have helped you in one way or the
other in the past.
We can site many more instances of inordinate
attachment to people of our social relations. You
probably have so many more in your minds
yourselves. We just don’t have enough time to
mention them all.
B. ATTACHMENT TO PLACES
What are the places to which we can be
inordinately attached? Well, there are many,
depending upon the persons degree of exposure.
These places can mean for example your:
1)COMFORTABLE HOME which you can not afford to
leave in order to serve the Lord like, doing
apostolic works, going to mass or prayer meeting
or attending seminar.
Surely it’s more comfortable to be at home than to
be in the church or in the seminar hall. But the
Lord is calling us to service.
john 15: 16 “It was not you who chose me, it
was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit.
 We can site many more instances of inordinate
attachment to people of our social relations. You
probably have so many more in your minds
yourselves. We just don’t have enough time to
mention them all.
2Tim. 4: 1-2
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is coming to
judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his
kingly power, I charge you to preach the word, to stay with this
task whether convenient or inconvenient- correcting, reproving,
appealing- constantly teaching and never losing patience.”
John 15: 16 says:
“ It was you who chose me, it was I who chose you
to go forth and bear fruit.”
2 Tim. 4: 1-2 says:
“ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is
coming to judge the living and the dead, and by his
appearing and his kingly power, I charge you to preach
the word, to stay with this task whether convenient or
inconvenient – correcting, reproving, appealing-
constantly teaching and never losing patience.
 We can be comfortable and at home in our place of
work that we don’t want to be transferred anymore.
The Lord Wants to use more powerfully somewhere
else but He can not because we have already become
so attached to our present assignment that we don’t
want to leave the place anymore. This can be easily
happen in the ministries.
Abraham became the father of God’s people and was
mightily use by God because he not attached to the
place of his parents where he was already well
established. When God called to go to a unknown
land, Abram left without any hesitation.
Gen. 12: 1-4 says: The Lord said to
Abram: “go forth from the land of your
kinsfolk and from your father’s house
land that I will show you…Abram as the
Lord directed him.
Abram was 75 years old when he left
Haran”
Because of Abram’s obedience the Lord was
pleased with him. 1 Samuel 15: 22 says:
“Obedience is better than sacrifice, and
submission than the fat of the lambs.”
 HOUSE OF PLEASURE AND VICES like gambling dens,
casinos, night clubs and other places of sin in general. One can
become so attached to this places that he would rather abandon
his duties to God and his family than stay away from these
places.
 PLACES OF RECREATION like club houses,
beaches, etc. where there are all kinds of games
that one can enjoy. A person can be so attached
to these places that he also neglects his duties to
God, to fellowmen and even to his own family.
C. ATTACHMENT TO THINGS
What are the things to which we can be inordinately
attached?
 These are our earthly possessions, our material
wealth like money, jewelries and other things which
we treasure so much. We can so be attached to them
that we already prefer them to God
 We have a clear case of this in the Bible, Mark 10:
17-27 This is the story of the rich young man who
came to Jesus. Read the gospel.
 Unless we cut all attachments to our possessions
we can not go forward to the Lord and follow him.
In fact, we just don’t care to follow him at all.
Jesus himself says in Matthew 6: 21
“Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”
If we really want to follow the Lord we need to
keep reminding ourselves that Jesus is our treasure
because we are in the midst of material things. We
must strive to develop in us the right Christian
attitude towards our material possessions.
 CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS OF OWNERSHIP
Basically, it means that as Christians we really
do not own our properties. Proof to that, we do not
have full control over them..
That is why even big businesses with real expert
advisers and administrators still go bankruft;
another proof we can die anytime and that is the
end of all our properties.
In other words, we are only caretakers. As such we
must dispose and handle these properties according
to the mind of the Lord, the real owner.
Whether we like it or not God is the owner of all
that we have. If he does not like the way you
handle His properties He can just change you
anytime.
 How then, does the Lord want us to administer
the things that he has entrusted to us?
There is one very important guideline to keep in
mind, namely, that the world is for everybody.
 God loves man so much that he created everything for him, If,
therefore, in our work, God gives us so much blessings are not for
us to hoard. We must use them for good works. This is what the
church calls the SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF PRIVATE PROPRETIES
 What does this mean?
Briefly, it means that our private properties have
obligations to fulfill- that is, to serve society. For
example, my clothes.
 As long I am still using them they are serving
society. They male me look decent and
Presentable so that I can move around and do my
duties.
 But the moment I don’t use them anymore
because I have newer ones, I can not just hoard
them in my drawer or cabinet so I can enjoy looking
at them. If you do that St Basil says, (and this is also
the teaching of the church),
“You are a robber!” Why? Because the clothing you
don’t use anymore no longer belong to you but to
those whom no clothes to wear or to put on. This is
why Jesus says in the gospel of St Luke 12: 15:
:
“Avoid in all its forms. A man maybe wealthy,
but his possessions do not guarantee him life.”
And in 1 John 3: 17 the word of God says:
“ I ask you, how can God’s love survive in a
man who has enough of this world’s good’s yet
closes his heart to his brother when he sees him in
need.”
 That is why, to encourage us St Paul says:
2cor. 9 :8:
“God can multiply his favors among you so that you
may always have enough of everything and even a
surplus for good works.”
Listen to this reminder of St Paul to Timothy
 1 Tim. 6 :7-10 “We brought nothing into this
world, nor have we the power to take anything out. 8
If we have food and clothing we have all what we
need. 9 Those who want to be rich are falling into
temptation and a trap.
. They are letting themselves be captured by foolish
and harmful desires which drag men down to ruin and
destruction. 10 The love of money is root of all evil.
Some men in their passion for it have strayed from the
faith, and have come to grief amid great pain.”
 Finally we have the word of
Jesus himself who says in
Matthew 16: 26
What profit would a man show
if he were to gain the whole world
and destroy himself in the process?
WHAT TO DO?
After knowing all these inordinate attachments
we must look into ourselves and sincerely find
out and identify our personal inordinate
attachments. Then let us bring them
To the Lord and ask him for the grace to cut
them completely. Matthew 5: 29- 30 Jesus says:
 REFLECTION:
May we now bow down our heads, Close our eyes
and put ourselves in the holy presence of the Lord.
(After two or three minutes of silence make them
sing the song “Set my Spirit Free” Then hum it to
give them inspiration and an atmosphere of prayer.
 (After two or three minutes of silence, close the
session with a short prayer of thanksgiving or just a
simple “ Glory be the Father…….”)
EVALUATION:
What are my inordinate attachments? List
them down from the biggest to the smallest.