Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART XVII
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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While our essay’ headline is ON LOVE PART 17, we start out essay today with some thoughts on hate. As we are so often reminded, hate plays much too large a part in the lives of otherwise good people and it is the source of these hatreds that we wish to address today as they relate to what we are discussing insofar as the the effects of the various doctrines of religion are concerned. We cannot stop here with the doctrines of the churches alone but we must extend this to the doctrines of our societies as well; what a man believes about God and about his fellow man is shaped by the indoctrination that each receives and it is this indoctrination that feeds much into his sense of things as he matures. It is this indoctrination that feeds also the inherent illusion and glamour that all of us face which is the vanity of which the Apostle Paul tells us and which we studied much in recent posts. Seeing this idea in Paul’s words again: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21) should refresh our recollection and we need then only the reality of this word vanity to understand his saying as well as its relationship to illusion and glamour. Let us look again at vanity:
- Vincent tells us of this word that it means: Vanity (mataiothti). Only here, Eph. iv. 17; 2 Pet. ii. 18. Compare the kindred verb became vain (Rom. i. 21 note), and the adjective vain (1 Cor. iii. 20; 1 Pet. i. 18). Vain is also used to render kenov (1 Cor. xv. 14, 58; Eph. v. 6; Jas. ii. 20). Kenov signifies empty; mataiov idle, resultless. Kenov, used of persons, implies not merely the absence of good, but the presence of evil. So Jas. ii. 20. The Greek proverb runs. “The empty think empty things.” Mataiov expresses aimlessness. All which has not God for the true end of its being is mataiov. Pindar describes the vain man as one who hunts bootless things with fruitless hopes. Plato (“Laws,” 735) of labor to no purpose. Ezek. xiii. 6, “prophesying vain things (mataia),” things which God will not bring to pass. Compare Tit. iii. 9. Here, therefore, the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. First we should see here that this version of vanity from the Greek is only used three times by Paul and stands apart from the other versions and is a stronger word from which Vincent takes his comment that the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4.
- The Greek word which is here translated as vanity means, according to the lexicon, what is devoid of truth and appropriateness, perverseness, depravity, frailty, want of vigour2 and we should see in this a departure from the normal ideas of vanity as well which tend to be commonly understood as:
- This which we find in our modern language dictionary: 1. excessive pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity. 2. an instance or display of this quality or feeling. 3. something about which one is vain. 4. lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life. 5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless7.
Now vanity may Truly be all of these things but the essence of Paul’s message should be seen as the effect of the world on the man as the man is made subject to this force which we call illusion and glamour. There is nothing more destructive to the Soul’s or the Christ Within’s ability to express the Love and the Power of Truth through form. It is glamour that tells one man or one group that his ideas are right and that he is better than another or another group and it is illusion that allows that man to believe this to the degree that it becomes ingrained into his very way of Life and it is both of these that are the fundamental causes and results of what Paul calls vanity. We can see this at work in the various religions of the world and in the various political systems as well and it is this that plays the fundamental role in the indoctrination of each of us and, most importantly, it is this illusion and glamour and vanity that we must break away from and which task can be seen as the central point of the repentance of which the Master speaks.
This last part is difficult to see because it is this same illusion and the glamour, the vanity if you will, which prevents a man from seeing the Truth and the reality. We should KNOW and understand this all and hold onto the idea that even in times where we are overwhelmed by these ways of the world, that we must, at the minimum, recognize their existence and their hold on man and see the possibilities that these are affecting us as well. Until the free flow of the Love and the Power of the Soul can be expressed by the man in form, he is likely subject, in varying degrees, to these most potent forces and we should ever understand that the way par excellence of overcoming these forces is through Love and through Wisdom as these become an ever growing part of the Life of each by means of our consistent focus on the things of God.
Returning to our starting words, we should try to see that we are faced with a double dose of these things insofar as we are subjected to them from the start, as we read from Paul who tells us that these are the ways of the world itself, and, at the same time, we are indoctrinated further into them by our educational systems, at home, in the churches, at schools and through our peers. Individually a man can extract himself from this that is called at times the rat race of daily living where he believes what he believes based upon the ways and the indoctrination that he receives. This extraction can take place through his answering the call of the Soul, the pangs of conscience, which try to lure the man away from the things of the world and toward the things of God. As we have oft said, many a man does not hear or recognize this Higher Calling over the clamor of daily Life while others do sense it but continually postpone heeding the call because the lure of the world is yet too strong and he cannot see the benefit of change. This is of course most ALL the function of the illusion and the glamour which put a man into this state and then tend to keep him there. This is also a practical demonstration of the Master’s words on the difficulty that we face in repentance from this worldly focus; He says: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14) and again we read: “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in , and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24).
We must look at the Master’s words in the context in which they are presented and according to the understanding that we have garnered about sin and evil and their not being reserved to the Truly bad things but rather that while they may be inclusive of these Truly bad things, they are more about the focus of a mans Life. We take this philosophy from the many other sayings of the Master that tell us of the arduous effort that it takes to be accounted worthy of the Kingdom and to become His disciple and this works this apparent excursion of our topic today back into the points made in the last posts. We must understand how this is ALL connected and a large part of this understanding is found in these ideas that we present regarding illusion and glamour as it is these that cause men to look at the Master’s words as being about the other guy and about the Truly bad rather that about one’s self and one’s own inability to overcome.
So how do we make progress as the race of men, how do we begin or enhance the ability to recognize the illusion and the glamour. Individually we can take the step of heeding the call of the Soul and of finding ways to tell others of the ultimate futility of following in the ways of the world but it is not until we can influence the cycle of indoctrination that we can begin to change society and the place to start is with the hatreds that so many are indoctrinated into. A prime example of hatreds are found in the history of race relations in this country a history of which ALL should be ashamed. Early on the white man took the negro as a slave and fashioned a culture were the negro was considered as less than a person in the South and as just a bit more in the North. While we cannot get into the historical perspective here we can note that in the two hundred plus years since the creation of America we have come to a point where a negro is the President of the country and where at the same time many still teach their children of the inferiority of the negro race and where many still raise their children in a climate of hatred. However, the slow and steady progress of evolution does take its toll and change does happen and although there are stragglers, people who still do not get it, the country and the world are a better place because of these changes. Similar things have happened in the plight of women in this country where without the expressed hatreds of race relations their rights were also severely restricted and although there are still areas of apparent prejudices, women now have the same basic rights as men and this too is having a worldwide effect which is still working itself out in many parts of the world.
The point here is that whether mankind is willing or not to take the lead and create the needed changes, the changes will come through the progress of the race that we call evolution. We can hasten that change in the challenge of the current day hatreds and problems by our own exhibition of Love and Wisdom and through teaching those near to us of the reality of a Life that is not focused on vanity and not controlled by illusion and glamour. Can we stop the hatred of Christian toward Muslims and the degrading attitude of the mainstream Christian toward the denominations that they may consider sects? Can we stop the similar hatred of the Muslims toward the Jew and the Christian and toward the secular world that they fear will infect them? Can we see that none of these religions are founded upon any of these hatreds and fears but that these are the creation of the doctrines of men who are beset by the glamour of their own point of view and who live in the illusion that they are right? And these illusions are strong and this glamour has become a rallying cry and so the Christian’s teach that there is only Christ and that ALL else is falsehood and should be the subject of their disdain, And while we cannot speak accurately about the Muslim religion, we can say that the hatreds espoused by many are not the teaching of Mohammad but are the creations and the doctrines of men in a part of the world’s society that is more prone to violence today as was our own part of society not so many years ago.
Enter here the fruits of the Spirit and enter here the Truth of the sayings of the Christ and ALL of this can be overcome in short time. Enter here a better understanding of the True nature of man, the Constitution of Man and of his relationship to the Universal Christ and to Our Universal God and we can have the foundation upon which to build.
Remembering also the Truth and the reality of the Master’s words regarding what we KNOW as the destiny of mankind which is acceptance into the Kingdom of God and the achievement of discipleship, we again post His requirements which are the criteria for each of us to be able to express the fullness of the Christ Within through form.
On discipleship he says:
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).
In the allied saying from Matthew’s Gospel we read:
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).
The Apostle John tells us this of the Masters words on discipleship:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
“Herein is my Father glorified , that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).
And, since we have not yet finished our discussion on the ideas below regarding faith and believing, we leave our verses for yet another day as well as our Quote of the Day which we hope is being used to gain a better understanding of our own nature as Souls in form on this Earth.
- “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
- “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?…..For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:25, 32).
- “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not…….” (Matthew 24:23-26).
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
We leave our quote of the day for another day as in it we find some of the realities of what is man as Spirit, Soul and the Life within the form. In this affirmation we find our understanding of our relationship to God and our relationship to man. Our relationship to God is as Part and Parcel of Him; our relationship to man is in service.
I am a point of light within a greater Light. I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine. I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God. And thus I stand I am a way by which men may achieve. I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand. I am a beam of light, shining upon their way. And thus I stand. And standing thus, revolve And tread this way the ways of men, And know the ways of God. And thus I stand.Today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
Looking at Life as we depict it above in relation to this affirmation we can see the idea presented that we are a part of God and that this is true on multiple levels, the levels that we call the Trinity. Relating these first three lines to the chart above can offer some clarity as to the nature of God and of man. For more on the ideas in this Affirmation of the Disciple please refer to the Quote of the Day from In the Words of Jesus parts 179-181.
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 3 Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 7 Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011
