What does it mean to be human? Most of the time in our lives, we, as human beings, try to mask our hearts and our stories to fit the cookie-cutter socially appropriate image that society can accept. St. Augustine challenges this norm in his Confessions. His writing is so raw. I have never read such an honest account of one's life where there is no mask to cover the evil. Saint Augustine almost seems to repent of the smallest sin of his life; some of these sins I had never even considered. St. Augustine has a common theme in his Confessions. He often speaks of what he “would have” (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 32). As humans, we often get stuck in the idea of what could have happened if we had done something differently. St. Augustine We seek Him in many different forms: approval, romance, compliments, popularity, money, etc. St. Augustine wrestled with this quest. His “idea of a good life was to gain the approval of [the people]” (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 25). In seeking this written approval, he compares himself to the prodigal son mentioned by Jesus in the Bible (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 24). The amazing thing about humanity and our journey to find love is that God fills our lives with more than we could imagine. St. Augustine recognizes his “desire for knowledge, but [God's] knowledge of all things is supreme” (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 38-39). He discovered that God surpasses our human desires, talents, and abilities. Then St. Francis discovered that in his “search for something to love, in love with love” (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 45), true Sin has been integrated into our lives since our first birth, which St. Augustine believes it also manifests itself in our childhood lives, when children can “take revenge [on themselves] on crying [adults]” (St. Augustine, 2001, p.9). I wonder if this is a shame because children have no sense when it comes to decision making; however, St. Augustine repents of his sins as a child (St. Augustine, 2001, p. 10). Although people are generally ashamed of their sins and misdeeds, regardless of faith position, St. Augustine points out that people often “feel ashamed because [they] have less to be ashamed of” (St. Augustine, 2001, p . 34). This point goes back to our desire as people to gain the approval of others. When you are around someone who sins, it is easy to feel less than them because, on their scale, the lack of sin diminishes your value. Even when our actions are shameful to God, unfortunately, human validation often comes first. This says a lot about our nature as people. St. Augustine writes that sin can also be pleasant, since he "would not steal to enjoy the fruits of [his] crime, but rather to enjoy the theft itself, and the sin" (St. Augustine, 2001, p..
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