EGO-DEFLATION AND GLORY

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:11-12

 

Note the three words in the quote, on My account...not as a personal matter and not to denigrate us. Plain and simple, the point is flat out on My account, or fancy, For The Glory Of The Lord (which kinda puts my back up but that's on me). 

This is the windup of the Beatitudes, the final verses, and, I'm convinced, the crux of the matter. What could be a more ego-deflating proposition than having all manner of evil uttered against us...falsely!... and getting to rejoice and be glad about it? Reminds me of poor, pitiful Bobby McGhee who was left busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train...I've always felt for the rejected me in Bobby.

To go a step further, the achieving of this ego-deflation is well nigh impossible even thanking God righteously...it is not an easy leap. Which brings up my explanation of reincarnation...we keep coming back until we get it right. Right is when we have no hand in it, i.e., not by self-will but by God's will. 

We are seeking God through a raised consciousness, and our consciousness can be lifted deeper only on My account. The key is to remember, or not forget, the Father and I are one. I suspect true spiritual growth does not start until we realize, experience and live in that truth. Speaking of feeling  busted flat and waiting...oh wait, here comes the light: that feeling is not a fact, and we're waiting on My account.   

All roads lead to God. I try to live by the Beatitudes, in particular Matthew 5:11-12, mainly because there is no possibility of my  misinterpreting it for my benefit...which is just me trying to make an end-run around God's will for me. I finally got it. If I'd do it his way to begin with, it would result in his intervening in my life in my behalf...plus, I wouldn't resist having yet another amends to make.  

Yet I'm convinced the following say the same thing just in fewer words: First, there's Easwaran's quote, the Buddha sums up the spiritual life in one simple phrase: 'going against the current.'  Then there is our dreaded favorite: We have ceased fighting everything and everybody. Ego-deflation in depth, baby.

Thank you.