Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for October, 2009

Dealing with Disharmony

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 16, 2009| 2 Comments »

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a miting of divorcement:
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeh adultery (Matthew 5:31-32).

We are told that in those days divorces were granted by the rabbinical law on the most trifling grounds. Married people who were not getting on together as well as they would have liked, were prone to run away from that problem by obtaining an easy dissolution. Now we understand that no permanent happiness can be obtained in this way. As long as you are running away from your problem, you will continue to meet it in a new guise at every turn in the road.

Just as in running from one business position to another, without first having brought about a charge in consciousness, we find ourselves but repeating the old conditions in a slightly different form, so, as a rule, people who divorce freely are apt to finish up as dissatisfied as they began. The general rule in Truth is, fight out your problem where you are, with prayer.

The general rule is still good for all conditions in life: Do not try to divorce or amputate the inharmony, but let it dissolve away of itself under God’s guidance.

Every human that ever lived had to deal with disharmony in their relations at some time. Facing that disharmony is never pleasant and resolving it usually requires sacrifice on the part of all involved. However, failure to address and resolve the conflict always results in further damaging the health of the relationship.

If we view our relationships as a living thing like a plant, we can learn valuable insights as to how we can return them to full health. Just as plants require food, water and nurturing from us, so to does a relationship. And while we can change the ailing plants location, unless we are feeding and watering it properly, it will weaken and eventually die.

In the same way, healthy relationships depend on our nurturing, feeding and watering. If we are not behaving in a way that accomplishes these things, the relationship will suffer. Even if we throw away the sick plant and get a new one, it will suffer the same fate. Of course, any mistreatment of the plant will cause damage also, just as mistreatment will kill our relationships with others.

When we adopt behaviors that provide for the needs of those we care about, those relationships become healthy. And just a a plant, they grow blossoms of joy and produce the fruit of love. Then our gardens are filled with the scent of flowers and the joy of harmony.

Watering the garden,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

No Price Too Great

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matthew 5:29-30).

The soul’s integrity is the one and only thing that matters. And so Jesus insists that positively no sacrifice can be too great to insure the integrity of one’s soul. Anything that stands in the way of that, must be given up.

Whatever is standing between us and our true contact with God—a sin, an old grudge left unforgiven, stark greed for the things of this world—must go. Such things, however, are so obvious that at least the transgressor is aware of them; it is the subtle things like self-love, self-righteousness, and spiritual pride that are most difficult for the self to exercise.

As humans, we naturally want to think that we can make ourselves do the right thing. Surely we don’t have to cut off our hand to keep it from stealing! The unfortunate truth is that without God’s spirit in us, humans are incapable of doing the right thing. Even when we overcome obvious weaknesses, we then face the more complex types of wrong behavior that comes from a false spiritual superiority.

The problem comes when we trust on our judgement regarding that which will cost us our soul. Satan lied to Eve and that demon lies to us each day. Satan knows most of us would not knowingly give up our soul. So he convinces us that we need not worry about sacrifice, self-denial and submission in all things

Whichever phase or spiritual development we are in, we must yield to God’s will in every way. So that even if we had to sacrifice life and limb to follow God, we must do so to ensure the welfare of our soul. Most times the sacrifices are much smaller. Simple acts of kindness when we are tired, turning away from criticizing others or giving up an object or a habit that is bad for us are the typical things we must do. But have no doubt, if we succeed in the small sacrifices, we will be able to make the big ones as well. There is nothing we have so valuable that we should trade our soul for it.

Seeking sacrifice,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

As A Man Thinketh

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

In this unforgettable paragraph, Jesus stresses the master truth, so utterly fundamental, yet so unsuspected by the world at large, that what really matters is thought. People have always been accustomed to suppose that as long as their deeds conformed to the law, they have done all that can be reasonably expected of them, and that their thoughts and feelings are their own business. But the type of thought that we allow to become habitual will sooner or later find expression on the plane of action.

The logical consequence of this fact is very startling. It means that if you entertain covetous thoughts for your neighbor’s money, you are a thief, even though you may not yet have put your hand in the till. The adulterer at heart is corrupting his soul even though his impure thought is never expressed on the physical plane. Lusts, jealousy, vengeance, mentally entertained, carry the soul’s consent, and this soul-consent is the malice of sin.

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

There is nothing more important to our understanding of how humans tick and our spiritual development than the words just read. The next most important is that the words we speak are the manifestation of these thoughts and are the next step to thoughts becoming deeds.

Therefore, that person who has learned to control their thoughts and has mastered their words, will find their deeds mastered as well. When one has achieved this mastery, they will exist each day in the Eden God created for us. And, they will bring that Eden to everyone they touch in each thought, word and deed.

Seeking mastery to bring Eden,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Making Terms with the Adversary

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

By coming to terms with the adversary in the first place, that is to say, by getting our thought right immediately concerning any difficulty, we incur no “costs” and the transaction remains a simple one.

Suppose that you find yourself sneezing. If you say: “There, now, I have caught cold again; I am in for it!” and then proceed to dwell upon the thought that you have caught cold, you are giving the trouble the opportunity to dig itself into your mentality. People often indulge in quite a meditation upon colds. Instead, if at the first moment that the possibility of catching cold occurs to you, you immediately reject it and affirm the Truth, the whole thing will be over in a short time.

Or perhaps upon opening your morning mail you find a notice informing you that your bank has failed. Many people in such a case would saturate themselves with the thought of ruin by rehearsing every kind of difficulty that might come. However, the proper thing to do, immediately upon becoming aware of the news, is to turn to God—your real support—and refuse to accept the suggestion of trouble as binding; literally drive the thought of loss, fear, and resentment out of consciousness. If you do this, working steadily until peace of mind is restored, you will presently find that in some way or other the trouble will disappear. Either the bank will speedily recover itself—and there is no reason at all why one person’s prayer should not save the bank and the fortunes of thousands—or, if this is not possible, you will find your loss equalized in some other way.

…whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

Applying these truths is one of the hardest aspects of mental self-control. When faced with trouble, it is very difficult for humans to refuse any thought of fear, harm or problems. In fact, without faith it is nearly impossible. With faith it is doable but still difficult.

As we practice this principle it becomes integrated into our consciousness, and the mind and spirit are trained to develop the discipline that builds over time with its application. Also, as we practice this and see its results in the real world, our faith is affirmed and we see the universe yield to it. Over time this practice becomes habit, and it is then that we automatically dismiss the problem and embrace the blessing in it. That is when we can live in our Eden each day and see every event as a blessing from God.

Seeing blessings,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Agree Quickly

Posted in Good Morning on October 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing (Matthew 5:25-26).

Jesus is stressing here the instruction contained in his injunction to “watch and pray.” It is ever so much easier to overcome a difficulty if you tackle it at its first appearance than it will be after the trouble has had time to establish itself in your mentality—to dig itself in, as the soldiers say. The moment a difficulty presents itself to your attention, quietly affirm the Truth, giving it no chance to dig itself in.

On the other hand, by thinking about your difficulty, you incorporate it into your mentality, and if you go on doing this long enough, it may be exceedingly difficult to get rid of it.

Jesus, when he wished to drive home a particularly important point, employed a graphic illustration from everyday life. In those times the law governing debtors was extremely severe. When a man found himself in debt, it behooved him to come to terms with his creditors as quickly as possible. Even at the present day it is important for the debtor to keep his case from coming into court, for the longer the case drags on the more lawyers’ fees, court dues, and expenses of various kinds accumulate, all piled on top of the debt proper. So it is with the various difficulties that present themselves to us in our daily lives.

How much time and effort have we invested in arguing and disagreeing with one another. What if we invested half of that time into seeking agreement and accommodation? The problem is that we can’t argue and seek common ground at the same time. We can not defend a position and seek accommodation simultaneously. The reason is simple. When we are arguing, we are focusing on the problem instead of seeking a solution. That does not mean we should give in to every disagreement and always go along with the other person. It means we must refocus our attention on the solution instead of the problem. That requires that we think of the other person and what is the right thing to do considering both parties.

The same principle applies to other problems in our lives. The more we struggle with the challenge, the more power we give to it. If we instead turn to God and focus our thoughts, words and deeds on God, then we have refocused our attention on the solution. In all these things, we must quickly turn to the solution, or face the prospect of living with a growing problem. So, let us not put off dealing with that which troubles us, but let us address it quickly and with God’s help seek the solution. When we do this, our time in the Garden increases and our troubles becomes our blessings.

Seeking solutions,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Danger of Anger

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

Indignation, resentment, the desire to punish other people, the desire to “get even,” the feeling “it serves him right”; all these things form a quite impenetrable barrier to spiritual power. Jesus says that if you are bringing a gift to the altar, and you remember that your brother has anything against you, you must put down your gift and go make peace with your b rother; when you have done that, your offering will be acceptable.

Jesus builds up this tremendous lesson in the Oriental tradition. He says first that whoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger; second that to be hostile to another, is to be in grave danger; and finally that to hold so low an opinion about a fellow creature as to consider him outside the pale, is to shut ourselves off from any hope of spiritual fruit while we remain in this state of mind.

Note carefully that the King James version of the Bible here makes a serious error, which has been corrected in the revised version. It interpolates a phrase not in the earliest manuscripts and makes Jesus say, “Whoever is angry without a cause; which is a manifest absurdity. No sane person gets angry without what he deems to be a cause. What Jesus said was that whoever is angry with his brother under any circumstances is in danger.

Anger is poison, literally and spiritually. The desire for revenge is acid and resentment is rust. When angered, our bodies produce chemicals that prepare us to fight or flee. These chemicals are harmful. When we stay in an angry, resentful or vengeful state, these chemicals poison our souls, bodies and our minds. They are harmful to our bodies and fatal to our spirits.

Love is the antidote to anger’s poison. reconciliation neutralizes acid’s burns and forgiveness removes resentment’s rust. When we apply God’s incontrovertible law to the human weaknesses of anger, resentment and revenge, we allow God’s healing power into our lives and rise above the emotions that hurt us. When we dispense God’s love to our world and ourselves, we become healthy, safe and immune to spiritual and physical poison. When we live by God’s will and law, we reap the fruits of joy, peace and hope that fill the trees of our Eden that God created for us.

Live love,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Striving for Perfection

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on October 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

What of the man who is conscious of considerable moral imperfection, perhaps of the habit of grave sin, and is at the same time sincerely desirous of spiritual growth? Is he to relinquish the quest for spiritual knowledge until he has first reformed his conduct? By no means. As a matter of fact any attempt to improve himself morally without spiritual aid is foredoomed to failure. The thing to do is to pray regularly and to throw the responsibility for success upon God. The man must carry on, no matter how many times he may fail. Let him keep affirming that God is helping him, and that his own real nature is spiritual and perfect. In this way moral regeneration and spiritual unfoldment will go hand in hand. The Christian life does not require that we possess perfection of character, or else, which of us would be able to live it? What it does require is honest, genuine striving for that perfection.

…he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee (Job 36:4).

Each of us will fall short of moral perfection each day of our lives. Fortunately, this does not cut us off from God’s grace nor does it prevent us from living in our Edens. So long as we are determined to live according to God’s will, recognize and confess our shortcomings, ask forgiveness and recommit ourselves to travel the path of God’s will, we will find our gardens and the peace, joy and hope that lies therein.

Seeking perfect knowledge,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts