I recognize myself in one aspect of acedia that Evagrius detects in the monk who is "quick to undertake a service, but considers his own satisfaction to be a precept." All too often when I volunteer for a job at church, it is because I feel like it: I have the time, and I know it will make me feel good in every sense of the word, fulfilled and virtuous. Yet often the tasks I don't particularly want turn out to be the ones I most need to perform. One test to determine whether I am receiving a call from God or from my ego is to ask whether this is something I would rather not do, or feel incapable of doing well. If either is the case, my best course may be to set my feelings aside and try to do the job.
-------------Kathleen Norris, Acedia and Me
