Dear Sistertech:
My wife is in lust! And she can’t get it under control. We live in Las Vegas — and it’s not that kind of lust she’s having problems with. She’s lusting after a new iPad. She was going to downsize and get a netbook, but she says the latest iPad had her at “On”. The problem is it’s going to take a some time to scrape together the money. All she thinks about is the iPad. She basically ignores me and our two sons. They’re worried about their Mom. I am, too.
Can you help us?
Lusting in Las Vegas
Dear Lusting,
Affairs of the heart between humans and their tech devices often do impact the relationships humans have with other humans. Sistertech recommends you both take some time to reflect upon two prayers from The Book of Uncommon Prayer. The first is prayer 6.9, For a Tech Convention or Meeting. Here’s the relevant part:
Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory.
Guide us to perceive what is right,
and grant us both the courage to pursue it
and the grace to accomplish it.
We’ve found that lust is rather closely related to fear. For some reason, known only to The One In Charge, sometimes humans are fearful due to insecurities about themselves or about what others will think of them. Thus, humans often find it difficult to be happy with who they are or with what they have. They went over this in our initial SWAT training sessions. At the time Sistertech found it dreadfully confusing. But Paulie assured us there was a documented link between fear and lust. I started to raise my wing to ask another question about this — Paulie seemed to know an awful lot about lust! — but by that time he’d gotten to the next human frailty. At any rate, experience has shown the wisdom in Paulie’s lecture.
The second prayer may help you and your wife address her fears. Prayer 1.1.8 is one of the daily prayers for morning. I suggest adapting it a bit in your case.
O One In Charge,
source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works:
Give to us that peace which the world cannot give,
so that our minds may be fixed on what we are supposed to be doing,
and that we, being delivered from the fear of our supervisors,
may live in peace and quietness.
Amen.
As I said, one could easily adapt the prayer along these lines:
Give to us that peace which the world cannot give,
so that our minds may be fixed on the things we already have,
especially those daily blessings so freely given to us through your love,
and that we, being delivered from our fears and insecurities,
may live in peace and quietness.
Amen.
We hope these two prayers will help you and your wife.
Yours in faithful obedience to The One In Charge,
Sistertech
PS: Please let us know which iPad you get! In fact, how about one for each member of the family?