Non-violence and non-possession
In a favorable review for a book called The Eternal Journey (Lundahl and Widdison, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446520543), I found the following phrasing of one of the great problems posed by sincere seekers of truth and debunkers who come up against the teachings of love and holiness exemplified in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or Gandhi's principles of non-possession and non-violence.
As far as practical problems on earth, the book leaves one confused. Things have to be done and set up properly for society to function well and some ideas on how to do that are better than others. So I don't see how one could just sit back and not worry about such temporal problems, as the book seems to suggest we should.
The book suggests we should love everyone, but this suggestion doesn't make much sense to me on a practical level when enemies bent on our destruction will just take advantage of our love and attempt to take all of our power from us.
These two paragraphs above express a poignant and sincere desire to understand how it is that such pretty-sounding ideas as "not ~to worry about temporal problems" and to "love everyone" can possibly work in relation to "practical problems on earth". With some trepidation, I would like to share some insights that have been helpful to me.
Loving Everyone
In spite of statements from Jesus that his ministry would bring "not peace on earth, but a sword" and ample Biblical examples of resistance and violence, it seems to be correctly impressed on the popular mind that the highest teaching of Jesus was exemplified by statements like "resist not evil", "give him your cloak", and "turn to him the other ~cheek also". But even among the most sincere and believing of us is heard the question, "How can that be?" What would really happen if I loved everyone?
The People of Abinadi
A story from The Book of Mormon helped me to begin to see the greater possibilities of what might really happen if I loved everyone.
There once was a wicked King with many wicked priests. One day a holy man named Abinadi came to his court and called him to repent, prophesying his violent death. In anger the king killed the holy man. But one of the king's wicked priests was pricked in his heart, turned to God, and fled into the wilderness, where he attracted and shepherded a new people of God.
Perhaps it was his witnessing the martyrdom of Abinadi, or perhaps it was coincidence, but the repentant priest had unusual power to lead his people in the ways of faith and holiness. When they were taken captive once and dominated by wicked taskmasters, they turned not to worldly solutions, but to God for deliverance. At first He "merely" lightened their burdens that they could bear them. Then after a time he caused their captors to oversleep one night while they escaped into the wilderness.
This priest and his faithful flock eventually merged into a larger community of believers that was more equipped and accustomed to warfare with ancient enemies. But he kept dear the stories of their deliverance in the wilderness. He had a son who grew to manhood and rejected the faith of God, fighting against his father's work. Again the priestly father turned to God, and his son was reclaimed by the ministering of an angel and visions of eternal punishment and glory.
This son had four close friends in rebellion who were converted to God when he was. These four left home to reclaim their ancient enemies of war by preaching them the holy word. After 14 years, they brought a community of converted souls home from enemy territory to settle a new land of their own.
Perhaps it was the tradition of the holy man Abinadi's martyrdom and the deliverances of God in the wilderness years before, or perhaps it was coincidence, but these reclaimed enemies had unusual faith in the power of God to deliver them. They buried their swords and covenanted to lay down their lives rather than shed blood again. When their brethren, the ancient enemies, soon came upon them in their new land to battle, the converted souls "prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord". Without any resistance, 1005 of them were sent by their enemies, the Lamanites, "to dwell with their God".
"Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword --
"Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.
"And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
"And it came to pass that *the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain*; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.
"And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." From The Book of Mormon
Not Worrying About The World
For years I understood that in all probability incredible heavenly power was pent up behind a floodgate waiting to be shed on all those who exercised enough faith to hear those sayings of Jesus and do them, or to take up their crosses and follow Jesus. But let's be honest; there are families to support, bills to pay, insurances to keep current, and retirements and inheritances to plan for. Surely the Father wouldn't commend my walking out on my family (He hates divorce)!
The kingdom of heaven is within you
Part of the answer I have come to see is that forsaking the world happens deep within. Gradually, one by one, old views change and old cares slip away. Some of the ideas that have to me been very powerful are shared below:
Power
I have learned that there is no real power I have that can in any way be taken away from me. Any power that can be taken away is counterfeit, illusory, and transient.
All the water in the world, no matter how it tried,
could never sink the smallest ship unless it got inside.
And all the evil in the world, and all the blackest sin,
Can never hurt a single soul unless we let it in.
Worldly powers. Worldly powers are powers that I can lose. To maintain these powers I have to be ever vigilant to protect against assault from without. If I own a home, I have to insure it against loss and pay taxes to maintain a standing army and police force to secure it to me. Nothing I can do can ever totally secure my power. No amount of insurance, wealth, or strength can guarantee it to me.
Heavenly powers. Heavenly powers are within me. To maintain these powers I have to be ever vigilant to protect against decay from within. They are the power to do good when I'm tired or hurt, the power to resist wordly distractions and attractions, the power to enter into the rest of the Father while yet in the flesh. No worldly means can deprive me of such powers.
I just work here
Somewhere along the way I started to realize that part of the solution to running a household or a business in the world was the concept of stewardship. As I pondered with increasing intensity the desire to forsake all for the Kingdom of God, I found that my heart was beginning to let go of some of the things that in legal reality in the world I still very much had ownership of. That thought journey combined with a few key instances of having the opportunity to literally and legally forsake all my worldly belongings, and the time came when I finally realized all I needed in this world were:
- A drink of water
- A meal
- A good night's sleep
- A bath
- A clean change of clothes
"Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." Jesus
Once I realized how simple my needs are, I realized that anything beyond those needs was merely a tool to add value or effectiveness to my service in some stewardship or calling or other. I also realized that since the stewardships were the Father's, the tools could be too. I began to think of myself (and I could in fact legally so set up my affairs eventually) as a mere employee and officer of a non-profit corporation involved in charitable, humanitarian, and spiritual work.
It doesn't take money to change the world.
My vision of myself as managing a non-profit corporation for the work of the Father in my corner of the world eventually, together with my long-standing focus on learning to understand the stock market, plus my realization that I had to frankly confess that giving attention to the stock market was a drag on my spirit, led me to consider the possibility that perhaps it doesn't take money to change the world.
"If one person had enough love, he could change the world." Ghandi
Day by day I was noticing flickers of moments when a purity of heart would be present that would allow me to think thoughts, say words, and see possibilities that were in some ways astonishing. When I looked back less enlightened at other times, I was in awe of the power of love and holiness even from a small soul like mine to radiate into the lives of others. No wonder Peter and his fellows would ask of Jesus, "What manner of man is this?"
We Can Do It
I haven't finished the amazing process of learning these things. I can't yet declare that "I have overcome the world." But I have experimented enough, seen enough, felt enough, and understood enough to declare with certainty that the words of foolishness proclaimed by Jesus and all those who speak by the Spirit of God are the very wisdom of Eternity's Reality. We can "love everyone" even when threatened and "not worry about temporal problems" even when anxiously engaged in work.