Depending on God

Gospel MK 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, 
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, 
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself, 
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, 
he cannot stand; 
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property 
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house. 
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies 
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit 
will never have forgiveness, 
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Not everyone embraced Jesus for who he was.  Some scribes thought that for Jesus to drive out demons, he must be the "prince of demons."  But Jesus puts them in their place and even goes on to identify the worst sin that we can commit: blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.  I had to look up the definition of blaspheme:  "to speak irreverently about God."  A more subtle example of blasphemy is not acknowledging God as God.  It's an act that separates ourselves from God - it's no wonder that Jesus calls this is an "everlasting sin."  I am at my best when I follow St. Ignatius advice to

Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.

Reminding myself how much I depend on God is the perfect way to acknowledge Him in my life.