Re: A question on beliefs

A person wrote: âI am stymied by some conflicting beliefs these days,.. I have been brought up to believe, and this is where I feel as if I am standing in mud, in the Christian postulation that the poorer you were or the harder you worked or the more you martyred yourself, these sacrifices somehow made you a better person in the eyes of God.â

I think you need to understand that Christianity has often been taught by persons who are much less than enlightened. If âhard workâ™ were the way to heaven, every brick layer or ditch digger or person on a chain gang would be saints. They certainly do âhard work.â™

As you may know, Jesus also said, âMy yolk is easy, my burden is light,â which has meanings on multiple levels. One is that he is saying, âThere is an easier way.â Another meaning is in the way the term âlightâ™ is used throughout the Bible. âLightâ™ refers to Great Wisdom. If a person chooses Jesusâ™ way, they still have the âburdenâ™ of accumulating great understanding and wisdom. But once they do, their yolk is easy, meaning, it is much easier to do something with great wisdom and understanding supporting your efforts, than it is by simply using muscle power.

And âyolkâ™ refers to what must be âwornâ™ or incorporated in the performance of a task. Tasks performed the Jesus way, with his âyolkâ™ of great wisdom, are easy, especially in comparison to people who attempt to handle difficulties ignorantly or by way of responding to their fears.

Another misunderstanding (to me) is the scriptural reference to, âthe meek shall inherit the earth.â In order to grasp the correct meaning of this, you need to understand that definitions of words change over time. Also selections of which English word to use to refer to the original text are often incorrect. My understanding of this is, âmeekâ™ refers to humble, meaning, those who are willing to learn. In other words, if you are a person who has enough humility so that you can be taught and so that you can learn, you are in a position to âinherit the earthâ™ or do well in life. The âKnow It Allsâ™ are the antithesis of the âmeekâ™ as itâ™s referred to in this passage.

And you referred to the quote, âit is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than it is a rich man to enter the kingdom of heavenâ

My understanding of this passage is: When a person is already rich with a lot of money they tend to rely on their money too much, making money their God. If they are born into it, and even if they spend it frugally and so never have money concerns, they are still often at a spiritual disadvantage. Being money poor, at least once in your life, could be the thing that turns a person inward to discover their true God-like power.

I have friends born into money who have had to struggle very much to gain a foothold on happiness. Why? Because they learned to lean on their money too much. And when money couldnâ™t solve their relationship or emotional problems they were at their wits end.

Now, it is not always be the case that the rich cannot enter heaven (which is just really a certain wonderful frame of mind and being). For example, a certain rich manâ™s son went to war, and in the midst of battle he understood that all his material wealth back home was not calming his mind one bit. He learned to find that Inner Peace that comes from reaching Inward, and so contacted his God power. But this is exceptional.

For example, not too long ago I read of a woman who inherited 200 million dollars and she proceeded to spend much of it in ways to try and impress her peers. She âboughtâ™ a gigolo for a mate, and then she got into drugs, and finally she died of an overdose. The problem was, she was looking for what money can do â what it can buy â as her God, as her means for fulfillment. As we know, having money does not necessarily mean youâ™ll have Peace of Mind. (It doesnâ™t mean you CANâ™T have peace of mind, but peace of mind is really something separate from money. A person can have peace of mind with either a little or a lot of money, depending on the wisdom they have.) It was hard for her to get to heaven â a peaceful lovely inner experience â partly because of all the money she had.

By the way, my understanding of Jesusâ™ reference to âthe eye of the needleâ™ is, back in Biblical times, when cities were surrounded by walls, the way you would enter a city is through large guarded gates. But each gate usually had a smaller door that was known as âthe eye of the needle.â™ At night, when the large gates were usually closed, a nighttime traveler could still enter the city through âthe eye of the needleâ™ the smaller door in the large gate. The door was usually large enough for a person to walk through, but a camel would have to stoop to get through this smaller doorway.

Hence, âit is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,â doesnâ™t mean itâ™s IMPOSSIBLE for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It just means itâ™s often harder.

Blessings,

'Preacher' Phil

Hey Phil,

Excellent stuff -- very well done. I believe most of Jesus' teachings on wealth/riches were on the issue of - where is your heart?

He told the wealthy young man to "go and give away all he has" -- why? Because he knew this young man was consumed with building wealth, even though he had supposedly kept the letter of the law. In other words, his heart was in the wrong place. Of course we know the young man walked away because he could not do this. Does Jesus ask us all to do this? No, he simply asks us to put him first.

The same on rich people entering heaven. Many, but not all, rich people I know are consumed with their wealth. They can rationalize their way into any purchase, and many expend most of their energies insulating themselves from the real world.

Yet, there are others that are fabously wealthy that try to give it all away and their wealth is a by-product to their giving. They have been blessed abundantly and are great stewards with what they have.

Kent F.

Interesting discussion, people. I want to add my two cents, but I also want to admit that I have begun to cruise this board for "Phil replies" because I am learning a lot from you. Please check out my question about efficient and inefficient actions on Chapter 12. You could really help me.

I always find conversations about what Jesus meant and said so fascinating because I grew up Jewish so we never ever spoke of Jesus except to say he was a trouble maker and a false prophet...

Then I married a woman who is a Christian Scientist and they have a nearly zen like interpretation of Jesus and his teachings...

But she also has a born again Christian fundamentalist step mother and well...we're all going to hell!

My understanding of Jesus comes from reading a lot about the historical Jesus and also reading a book by Stephen Mitchell which I think is "The Gospel according to Jesus" but I'm not sure and quite honestly, I keep lending it out and not getting back because people read it and keep it! Basically Mitchell gives a great humanist interpretation of a Gospel. He also did a great translation of the Tao Te Ching so pick that stuff up.

I think part of the reason we don't see a lot of clear stuff in the Gospels about Jesus' thinking on wealth is because...
1. The people who actually wrote the Gospels were poor and I believe preaching to a down trodden audience so they helped themselves by demonizing the rich

2. Jesus was preaching against the powers that be in the temple - who were the wealthy priests, the wealthy congregants who could pay for prayers. These were people who had lost their spirituality, were demeaning his Judaism, and didn't get it! So like Phil pointed out, these were people who were not using their wealth correctly.

3. We also don't know what Jesus said really because the Gospels were written years later in Greek, then translated to Latin, then translated to English. I think some stuff got lost or garbled along the way!

But I think Jesus just wanted us to live life the fullest way possible. "The Kingdom of Heaven" is here! That's the Gospel. That's the good news.

So I'm sure he would be totally for SOGR. Now, how he would react to Christmas...that's a whole other conversation!

Mylesaway

To Kentf about the rich reaching heaven.

There are many ways to interpret all things. When Jesus asked the young man to give it all away how do you know that Jesus wasn't giving him the secret to getting more wealth. Money represents an energy and that requires flow. This wealthy young man was then doomed to stay at the wealth he had instead of reaching his desire of more wealth.

Also how do we define wealth. In actuality every person in this country is wealthy compared to third world countries. It is a very relative thing this idea of being rich. I believe that most of us fear loss of what we have already (ie our present wealth) that we don't take risks or follow our passion or reach out to love (ie reach the kingdom of heaven).

I also know that heaven is a state of mind not a place to go after you die. For those that think by enduring discomfort or being martyred in any way here on earth they will reach heaven after giving up their physical existence they will be surprised. The beauty is that we will all get there in this eternal game of life. How long you spend with your eyes closed is your choice.

An interesting thing about this physical existence is that all you see you have created with your beliefs. If you see "wealthy" people not being happy then you believe it. If you see people being rude then you believe it exists. You will be amazed at your world when you stop believing in those things.

There is great love for you here,
Delmi

To Mylesaway,

This has nothing to do with Today's Sermon. I was reading one of your posts when I first started and didn't have a clue how to reply. You were concerned about not making progress, I believe. You went on to make negative remarks about some conference you went to that was not worth much and just "a gimmick for making money"...not your words but that is the impression you gave.

You will never reach your goals, at least not quickly and easily, when you are still focused on what others are doing wrong. Your power will be scattered and confused.

Humbly, I may be wrong about the whole thing and I am not interested in being critical but I believe in your magnificence with my whole heart and the amazing things you will accomplish when you put your whole power toward what you want instead of what you don't want.

As soon as you feel a negative emotion about anything realize it is an educational tool meant for you. Take full 100% responsibility for it and ask yourself what limiting belief allows me to chose it. Root out every judgment you have, subtle ones especially. Question every belief.

All things have their purpose including worthless conferences and people who seem to only have making money as their goal. Don't waste your power and focus,instead, on what you want. Bless those things you would have judged wrong in your past and move on to your work of creating your paradise. The world is waiting for your glorious creations.

With only love and great anticipation,
Delmi

One's Heart is Inside. And the Universe is in the Heart.