Home     Index     Contact us     Download
   

God helps those who help themselves. - Look at the birds in the air. - Do not worry about gold possession.
   
   

God helps those who help themselves

1. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. The door will be opened to one who knocks. Which one of you gives a stone to the son who asks for bread? Or gives him a snake when he asks for fish? Then if you, that are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much good things more will the Creator give to the asking creature? (Matthew 7:7-11.)

2. The maxim Seek and you will find means the same as Help yourself and Heaven will come to your aid. Both expressions represent the law of work and, consequently, the law of advancement, because progress is child of labor. God gave humans the neverending desire of the best. This wish drives people to work and, consequently, to develop the power of their intelligence. In order to improve well-being, humans need continuous collaborative effort. We have always to study, discover, invent and build. We have also to continuously improve science, because science is the tool that allows us to obtain what we lack.

Through labor, intellect heightens and morals depurates. The needs of body give way to the soul's aspirations. After material feeding, humans need spiritual nourishment. Step by step, through their daily toil, aided by the inner learning brought from previous incarnations, people pass from barbarism to materialistic civilization and, from this, to moral civilization.¹

3. Work contributes to spiritual maturation. By laboring, people gradually acquire virtues that rid them from primitive instinct. This is why the Creating Source made work a law by commanding: Seek and you will find, that is, Labor and you will get.

4. Each one must harvest the fruits of their own activity. If the spirits freely provided to the incarnated beings new knowledge, discoveries, inventions and ready solutions, then the laziest person would receive undeserved benefits and the most ignorant one would become knowledgeable without effort. It would be unfair. Nobody is exempted from the law of work, which is universal and eternal. Even the discarnate have also to toil in the spiritual world. During their invisible assistance to the embodied humans, for instance, the good spirits provide them guidance towards the goal, and strength for them to keep carrying on. They show to the incarnated the pathway and suggest them: Walk and you will get there. Courageously go! Remove the stones that you will find along journey; Keep struggling and you will be successful!²

5. The words of Jesus mean: “Ask for light and you will be given guidance. Ask for strength to persist in the right path and you will be empowered. Ask the good guides' assistance for your honest endeavor and they will come to inspire you. Ask for good advice and be sure you will be pointed the right direction to go. But ask with faith, sincerity and confidence. Present yourselves to the Creating Source with humility, because the proud need to be abandoned to the limits of their own strength, and their falls will help curing the sickness of their arrogance.”

Look at the birds in the air

6. Do not store treasures to yourselves on Earth, where moth and rust consume them and where thieves break in and steal. Build up treasures in Heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroy them, and where thieves are unable to break through and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. Be neither anxious for your life nor for your body, regarding what you will eat or wear. Life is more than food and clothing. Look at the birds in the sky! They neither sow, neither reap, nor gather into barns. Nevertheless God feeds them. Are not you worth more than they? Can worry make you live longer? And why do you grieve over clothing? See how the lilies of the field grow! They neither toil nor spin. Despite this, not even Solomon, with all his wealth, dressed as one of these. If God clothes so carefully the field grass, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more carefully will the Almighty clothe you? Why do you have such little faith? So, avoid getting anxious, as the pagans, on eating, drinking and wearing, because God knows all of your needs. Seek first the kingdom of God and the divine justice, and all these things will be added to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for the morrow will worry for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:19-21 and 25-34.)

7. In a radical interpretation these words would deny the virtues of foresight, savings, study and work. However, any literal viewpoint would show itself mistaken because it would oppose the law of work and the very essence of Christian teachings. God created human beings with neither clothes nor shelter but endowed them with the intelligence required for problem solving.³

The Creating Source knows all human necessities and assists the children who righteously struggle to solve them. But the divine assistance does not always come through material aid. The good spirits often inspire ideas from which we find the way to overcome trouble.⁴

The Jesus' teaching above emphasizes that, as long as we do our best honest work, be fraternal with everyone and trust in the Providence, we will be granted what we need. But there are people who are insatiable. Seldom satisfied, they impatiently demand the excess. They use to self-torture and do everything, even dishonest acts, in order to get the superfluous that they consider important. After having neglected the frequent warnings from their conscience, they are resorted to undergo the pain which results from their own decisions. The bitter fruits they harvest, as result of their greed, act, in the long run, as a medicine for their moral improvement.⁵

In the other hand there are good workers who, dispensing with luxury, live honestly with the resources they have but become insecure about uncertainties of the future. To them that Jesus addresses the words: Look at the birds in the sky and Do not worry about tomorrow. Through those lessons the Lord teaches that, provided we seek first the kingdom of God, that is, since we prioritize our duty as Christians, by proceeding with all of our neighbors as we would like they proceeding with us, we will be granted the means that we need. Thus Jesus reminds us that we should play our part today, trust the Providence about tomorrow, and firmly reject any fear of hypothetical future woes that may never happen. This is very different from being lazy or irresponsible. Problems will always exist, because they teach us. In order to overcome them we should concentrate today, work hard, be charitable with everyone and keep trusting in the God's aid.

8. No one on Earth will lack the necessary when fraternity governs the planet. Then the momentary excess of one will cover the temporary lack of another, and everyone will have the necessary for they to live with dignity.

One who has excess resource should self-consider as a momentary holder of a lot of seeds. By spreading the grains today the prudent holder will produce thousandfold for others and also for themself. However, if this person alone consumes or wastes everything, then nothing will be produced and there will be shortage. If the selfish holder stocks the grains for long inside a barn then maggots come to devour the seeds. This is why Jesus teaches we should build up treasures in Heaven instead on Earth. In other words, spiritual wealth is far more valuable than the deceiving illusion of earthly property.⁶

When charity penetrates people's heart, Earth will start being happier.

Do not worry about gold possession

9. Do not take along any gold, silver and money in your belts. For your journey take neither bag, neither extra coat, neither shoes nor walking stick, because the worker deserves support.

10. Whatever town or village you enter into, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. When entering any house greet it by saying: ‘Let peace be at this household.’ If the house is worthy your peace will come upon it; else, your peace will return to you. If anyone repels you or your words, leave the place and shake off the dust from your feet. The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah will be more tolerant than of that place. (Matthew 10:9-15.)

11. In the ancient time travelers were rare. Inns and other commercial kinds of accommodation appeared only later. This is why it was relatively usual hosting strange travelers at home. Modern travel development, however, has changed customs. Today, traveling without means sounds crazy. But even in that time a provisionless journey meant a risky endeavor. Those words of Jesus hold a deep moral sense. Through them, he teaches his disciples to trust in the Providence, in spite of the risk they were going to face during their travels to spread the Gospel. He stresses his confidence lesson by remarking that the good laborer deserves maintenance. By having nothing, the disciples were expected to be welcomed only by the charitable, who would host them for free. Therefore the worthy ones whom Christ mentioned comprised the selfless audience who was more morally prepared to welcome the Glad Tidings.

With regard to those who cared neither to receive the disciples nor to listen to their words, Jesus preaches tolerance and respect towards them, by guiding the disciples to peacefully go away and seek other listeners.

Today Spiritism says the same to its followers: respect the others' conscience. Never try forcing anyone to replace their faith by yours. Be tolerant with all who think differently. Welcome all those who come to join you, and leave in peace all they who combat your ideas. The very Spiritist doctrine defends itself. Remind yourselves of the words of Christ. In older times, Heaven were taken over by violence. But for the one who believes and practices charity, Heaven should be taken only through mildness.⁷

   
________________________________________

Do to others what you want that others do to you. (Matthew 7:12)
You'll know the truth and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32)
 
[Home]   [Index]   [Contact us]   [Download]

 
God is fair and good. Know the Spiritist philosophy and be sure about it.
Unshakable faith is only that which can always face reason. (Allan Kardec) R1

   
A tree is known by its fruits
   

The vine branch