This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
But I say unto you,
Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool:
neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay:
for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
— KJV, Matt 5:33-37
Language shapes the mind…
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In the first part of this essay, we explored the spiritual implications of the name as highlighted by the passage above.
Christ explained further:
Neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Heaven represents the highest aspiration of a human spirit. When we cheapen this concept, the self-sabotage we mentioned in the previous essay takes place.
We may continue using the same word for it, but our understanding, our intuitive perception of it, unconsciously becomes baser. All our aspirations become lower.
He continues:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool
We can infer from this that the correct attitude of humans towards Earth should be one of reverence.
This contradicts many popular interpretations of Genesis 1:28:
And God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Many interpretations of this passage lack the humble and respectful attitude towards Earth dictated by The Word; they infer that man has a license to act with impunity towards the Earth and its non-human inhabitants.
An interpretation based on The Word would have yielded an understanding rooted in love. Our position as the “dominator” i.e. the leader, must lovingly benefit our planet.
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We should refine it and contribute to its development through the application of our higher spiritual knowledge. We are to ensure that human civilization and Nature advance together. We should not treat Earth as an object without life or inherent value.
Some critics believe that Genesis 1:28 legitimized the idea of “dominating” and “subduing” the Earth and contributed to (Western) man’s reckless disregard for Nature. If so, it represents an inability on the part of both the critics and the Christians to understand The Word of Christ and to apply it to the verses in Genesis.
Christ goes on to say:
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
We should only invoke things that are within our control. For example, we do not directly control the biological changes in our hair.
The only thing we directly control is our God-given free will, our spirit. To demand that things existing independently outside of us should bear witness for us is neither logical nor appropriate.
It diverts our attention from the significance and power of our free will: our volitions, thoughts, words, and actions. This leads to spiritual laziness.
And finally:
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay
All the words we use have spiritual relevance, not only names. They can all contribute to the degradation of our spiritual comprehension by the process already described. The Word’s demand that we become generally more sparing in our speech is a pointer to this fact.
It is worth re-evaluating the Commandment “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain” in light of the foregoing.
In conclusion: Treating the concept and the name “God” with the highest reverence we are capable of naturally leads us to use It less in day-to-day conversation, and this simple act elevates our overall level of spiritual awareness. In this process we will also become more conscious of the power of words and become sparing with speech.
Today’s Resolution:
- We shall restore the sacred name of God to a special place in our hearts, such that we will only utter it with the deepest seriousness of which we are capable.
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