ON LOVE; PART DLXXXIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
This is the one thousandth edition of this blog which IS for me a real milestone; not that I have accomplished anything special but in the reality that a man such as I could accomplish this. That I could find the wherewithal to set aside this time nearly every day for what I see as the things of God; that for that time my focus can be on these things and NOT the minutia of Life in the world. And this IS the greater point of focus, that it takes one either away from the self and the self’s interests in the world or it takes one towards the carnal nature. And the difference IS easy to see; how that one’s attention to the Good, the Beautiful and the True sets one free from the clamor of worldly Life and concerns about it. It IS NOT a difficult thing to do as I am doing and the more difficult parts I have not yet accomplished as in the rest of the day I am yet in the world, my focus IS upon those things that keep me busy and entertained. But I can and DO make progress; NOT in the idea of NOT being busy and entertained in the world for we must be as men, we must eat and shop, walk the dog and clean, we must do as ALL men must do and strive to do so without allowing the illusion of the seeming pleasures of the world effect our thoughts and our attitudes. That IS that we try to live a minimalist Lifestyle which IS NOT driven to achieve nor to acquire and we try to not concern ourselves with these desires….we try to diligently “take no thought” (Matthew 6:25).
In this mode of Life the progress IS such that more and more time is spent in pondering the things of God and seeing ALL things as reflected in the mirror of our vision of the Truth and of Love. In this we relate what we see in the world and in the news to the reality that we KNOW and, without judgment, we view others motives, good or bad, against the backdrop of our vision of the Plan of God. KNOWING in our hearts that if our own self, our own thoughts and feelings, are minimized, that we can see a greater part of that Truth. In the end the personality and its thoughts and feelings must become an expression of the Soul, a reflection of the Good, the Beautiful and the True, and not a reflection of the carnal ways of the world. Perhaps the greatest thing that I have done and that a man can DO IS to strive. Strive toward the Kingdom, toward being accounted worthy of the Kingdom and towards the role of discipleship. It IS ONLY from a worldly perspective, from the view of the personality grounded in the things of the world, that this seems difficult; once one can see the Light found in his growing ability to focus upon the Truth of the Soul, the Christ Within, the Path forward becomes much easier to see and to bear with joy.
As we continue with our study in the third chapter of the Epistle of James that we began in the last essay, we should reiterate our ideas on just what the apostle IS saying regarding the idea of teaching and how that the teacher should be careful in what he does. The common ideas are doctrinally oriented and support the church hierarchy that has been established in most every denomination where the authorities appoint others who they see as qualified to teach. James DOES NOT have this in mind however as he IS speaking to disciples and aspirants and cautioning them by his words which we repeat here and expand into our next segment for discussion:
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold , we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:1-10)
In this first part we tried to see the reality that the apostle IS NOT speaking against teaching but cautioning against those who would teach error which IS the better interpretation of the word rendered here as offend. Stumble can be used here as well but in either word there IS the sense of error in the words that one would speak and while some commentaries tend to assign this to the teacher who disciplines his student, we can find no indication of this whatsoever in the apostle’s words. Others see the idea of teacher having the ‘gift of teaching’ and in this one should ask who it IS that defines this ‘gift’ and who assigns the possession of this ‘gift’ or denies that one may have it; again, we can find no indication of this in the apostles words. For us the question of what IS meant by this idea of error or stumbling IS answered in the idea that one IS teaching what IS NOT the Truth but IS teaching what he believes and therefore his own doctrine. This can be seen in the teaching of the Pharisees and the scribes in that day as well as the state of the Christian churches today where a multiplicity of differing doctrines ARE taught with each claiming to be the Truth. This then IS the nature also of the perfect man, the man who teaches ONLY the Truth as the Master presents it; it IS this man that IS “able also to bridle the whole body“. In bridle we should see the idea of control and this should be seen in a natural way much the same as True faith naturally resulting of works from James’ previous words. The idea here then is that ALL men should not want to be teachers as there IS an extra burden upon them and this burden IS Truth. The apostle tells us that many teachers ARE prone to teach error and to mislead by offering their own doctrines and Truth and it IS the perfect man who can resist this and who not only controls his expression as a teacher but controls his expression in its entirety.
The result here IS the reality that there ARE very few teachers of Truth as there ARE very few who ARE perfect and the rest who choose to teach should beware of what they may say. This of course follows upon the idea faith and works where we should try then to see that the teaching of Truth is the works of the man of True faith and NOT the man who merely states that he has faith and in this we ARE ALL left to define ourselves. The man of True faith, of True KNOWING of the Wisdom from above, expresses the resultant works of Love and Truth and it IS this man who IS the disciple and it IS this man who IS accounted worthy. This man IS the True teacher that will “offend not in word” and ALL the rest who choose to teach should strive toward this reality while remembering always that it IS the Truth of the Master’s words that must be taught and NOT the doctrines of men. The Master tells this same to His disciples as He sends them into the world saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20; Revised Standard Version). The Master speaks about false prophets and in this idea we should see the man who teaches things that ARE NOT the Truth but who presents such as it were the Truth; we should see this same playing out in James’ words regarding teachers as we say above. The Master calls these ravening wolves and perhaps we should NOT see this idea as literally as it is commonly understood; perhaps we should just see the comparison between the sheep that they appear to be as opposed to the wolves as the reality of Truth verses the NOT True as based in the error of the doctrines of men. Here again we can see the Pharisee and the scribe as they teach doctrine and tradition but looking forward as we do in James’ words we should see ALL teaching that IS NOT the Truth that Jesus teaches. And we should see the resolution for the adept hearer of teaching; that he will KNOW the perspective of the teacher by what it IS that he teaches as the Master tells us that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The symmetry between James teaching and the Master’s is seen in these ideas and with this we should see as well the fruits which are the nature of the teaching and which are the teacher’s works .
James’ goes on speaking about the tongue and we should remember that the tongue DOES NOT act on its own; James IS speaking of the expression of the man in the world, about the thoughts and the attitudes that he expresses which ARE either carnal, of the personality, or they are spiritual, of the Soul and of God. In these ideas from James we should see the reality of the Master’s words from Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount where we read: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Here we should clearly see then the role of the tongue according to James own parabolic language where the controls of which he speaks must be upon the expression of the man with the tongue being but the example. In the idea of the tongue IS what comes from the man, not the words only but every expression of good or of evil and the Master makes this same point in another way which is seemingly regarding another matter; that of the disciples eating with unwashed hands. After the Master answers the accuser we read this:
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said , Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man” (Matthew 15:15-20).
Here again we see the heart and the more specific language of what proceeds from the mouth as the beginning reference here IS eating; just as the heart DOES NOT mean the physical organ, the mouth here DOES NOT mean the mouth as the physical organ either but rather the expression of the man in the world. This we can clearly see in Jesus examples of that expression as he lists “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” of which only two of these has any relation to the mouth or the tongue. James’ words then regarding the helms of ships and the bridle of horses are examples of control that should be related to the fullness of a mans expression of worldly thoughts, attitudes and the resultant actions which include words spoken from the tongue. It IS then the expression of the man whose focus IS upon the self and the self in the world that IS like the fire; it IS his expression of thoughts and attitudes in actions and words that can kindle a great conflagration in the thoughts and the emotions of others. Yes man can tame many things as the apostle tells us but he has not yet found the way to tame his own carnal self in the world and when this is viewed from the perspective of earlier saying that “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body“, this end can be seen as the reality of the disciple who has overcome the world.
But these things work out in Life by degree and not ALL men have expressions which are “full of deadly poison” and not ALL of a man’s expressions would be such except in the harshest of examples. The idea here is that the expression of the man in the world IS of the world and IS difficult to control and that when these men who have varying degrees of control teach others, they are likely teaching what it IS that they KNOW, what IS in their hearts, which IS generally NOT the Truth of God. The tongue does naught of itself but to allow for mechanics speech and to aid in taste; ALL else comes from within the man, this IS the source of one’s power; from the mind and the emotions come things carnal and from the consciousness held in the Light of the Soul comes the things of God. And the examples of blessing and cursing that the apostle offers us are his view of this idea as both come in the same expression of the man in the world but from very different sources. And what IS this blessing that we can offer to God? How does one bless God? The doctrinal ideas here are vague and this appears in many translations as praise and perhaps this IS what the apostle intends to say but there IS a deeper view of this idea as it would come in the expression of the spiritually focused man in the world and that IS to be in accord with His words. This IS NOT the same Greek word that is used by the Master in the Beatitudes, which has deeper meaning as well, and it appears that these are unrelated; the usage of the Greek word eulogeo that is used here by James IS varied and Vincent tells us this: Blessed (εὐλογητὸς); εὖ , well, λόγος , a word. Well-spoken-of; praised; honored. Used in the New Testament of God only. The kindred verb is applied to human beings, as to Mary (Luke 1:28): “Blessed ( εὐλογημένη ) art thou.” 4. The lexicon tells us that eulogeo means: to praise, celebrate with praises; to invoke blessings; to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers to ask God’s blessing on a thing; pray God to bless it to one’s use; pronounce a consecratory blessing on; of God to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on; favoured of God, blessed 2.
The lexicon’s definitions are likely based in the doctrinal ideas from its use in different ways and overall this idea of praise can likely be the closest to the reality that James intends; but then what does this praise mean when we speak of God. Our point here IS that the whole of the apostle’s ideas here are in regard to the teacher and what he may teach by his expression of either carnal or spiritual thoughts and attitudes and, on the side of spiritual, what would be the teachers expression but Truth which IS the reality of His word.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
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.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
This is called by some of the church the Great Commission and so it is. It is however hardly understood and at times grossly misapplied. Somewhere in the centuries that have passed since the Master left us we have come to think that the meaning of this is just to preach the word through any particular doctrine and baptize according to any particular belief. Vincent tells us that the word translated as teach here should be seen as make disciples of 4 and the lexicon bears this out. There is nowhere in scripture an actual defining understanding of the concept of baptism and we generally think of it as the immersion into or the pouring on of water and that somehow this clears us of sin. This is but an outward sign however of real spiritual undertaking by the conscious man and it is only when a man is ready to commit to the Master that a baptism can be considered real. We will leave this as the Quote of the Day for a few days and try to find in it some true meaning. Keeping in mind our four points, we should ponder on this.
The Master is speaking to disciples and not the multitudes and these are those that do believe on Him and follow Him and keep His words. Hard sayings for man in the world but claimed by many nonetheless. There IS a reality in the idea that the disciple should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” which IS His words that ARE to be kept and in this light we add these ideas from the Buddha: “Love yourself and watch – today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach, and so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked you must first do a harder thing – straighten yourself” (Dhammapada; on Yourself)5.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
