December 14th. Christ says we must hate life. Now, this does not apply to all life. It is |life in this world| that is to be hated. For life in this world implies conformity to this world. It may not mean pursuing worldly pleasures, or mixing with worldly sets; but a subtler thing than that -- a silent deference to worldly opinion; an almost unconscious lowering of religious tone to the level of the worldly-religious world around; a subdued resistance to the soul's delicate promptings to greater consecration, out of deference to |breadth| or fear of ridicule. These, and such things, are what Christ tells us we must hate. For these things are of the very essence of worldliness. |If any man love the world,| even in this sense, |the love of the Father is not in him.| Natural Law, p.197.