Thursday, August 13, 2020

RESIST NOTHING, LOVE ALL

The three most important words in the Bible to me today are Resist not evil. If I'm doing it right, if I continue to grow spiritually, that no doubt will change, but for today....

Resist not evil. To resist not evil is to be ye perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Plain and simple, resist not...love all...be ye perfect.

A helpful how-to is spelled out by Eknath Easwaran's "Words to Live By" about difficult people being like an eyelash in our eye: ....this 'lash in the eye' is an opportunity for learning the skills that matter most in life: patience, forgiveness, and freedom from likes and dislikes.  [Nonresistance?] They go and put their arm around someone who has given them a really difficult time, and say sincerely, 'Without you, how could I ever have learned to be patient? How could I have learned to forgive?' [Nonresistance!]

Clearly, or it seems to me, that to resist not evil is to resist nothing...for who resists good? It is our ego that resists...that's its reason for being, to self-protect, i.e., to resist our perception of evil. To seek still more spiritual growth is to seek ego deflation in depth which is a lot easier to talk than it is to actually walk...or even to become willing to.

Paradox alert! We must resist our own want (to slap the offender upside her head) if we are to realize the inner peace of nonresistance (allowing him to walk free in our head). 

Slowly we recognize our reasoning mind must be retrained which makes our decision for us. We must turn our will over to the care of God...a.k.a., exchange our will for God's will. Which, who's kidding whom, is a rest of our life, day-at-a-time, proposition.

So the search for still more spiritual growth is the search for contact with the Divine Spark within, the Source, our Father who knows our needs. The road we must walk leads ever deeper toward that Higher Power...resisting nothing by loving all.

Thank you. 

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