I am often asked how to overcome the worship of prosperity. How can one, knowing they can control the Universe, stop the desire to control it and the desire to improve their own fate? This is what is called temptation. In life, we have to overcome not only trials but also temptations.
It is said that a person must «pass through fire, water, and copper pipes».
«Fire» is mortal danger, it is a threat to life, to the physical body.
«Water» is the trial of wealth, prosperity.
And «copper pipes» are the trial of fame.
In order to, having access to higher plans, avoid devilish tendencies, one must follow the path of Jesus Christ. It is necessary to imitate his ability to love and his ability to overcome dependence on this world.
At the beginning of the Gospels, the temptation of Christ is recounted as the starting point of his path as a preacher and Savior. His path as a Savior begins with testing, with the temptation in the desert and overcoming that temptation. In the desert, there is a sharp braking of consciousness, and the subconscious opens, revealing super-abilities. It is very important how a person relates to these super-abilities – whether they submit to them or overcome them.
Christ shows the right attitude towards super-abilities. This inner temptation is described in the New Testament as temptation by the devil. Christ walked on water to influence his disciples – to convince them that the Divine is stronger than the human, that is, his superpowers were used to fulfill the Divine will.
But when a person uses their superpowers to satisfy the needs of the body and spirit, that is, to earn money, enhance their authority, strengthen their power – then the process of soul degradation begins, and the self-destruct program is activated.
Selfish prayer is never left unpunished.
Christ said that any request addressed to God in prayer is fulfilled: «And whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.»
In the scene of temptation in the desert, Christ speaks of not tempting the Almighty. That is, super-abilities bestowed from above should not be treated consumeristically. They cannot be used to obtain what we must earn ourselves. A house, a car, an apartment, money, prosperity, authority, health – all of these we must earn ourselves. The highest degree of temptation is glory, fame, power, adoration, and gratitude from people.
To renounce all of this, in order not to harm one's soul and to feel that love is more important, is a task that for many is insurmountable. People simply do not understand and do not feel how dangerous the trial of «copper pipes» is. The pursuit of prosperity, of improving one's fate – this is a natural manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation. Without the instinct of self-preservation, a person cannot survive. How to overcome the instinct of self-preservation – not to defeat it, not to crush it, but to put it in second place? Essentially, the main task of any religion is to restrain the instinct of self-preservation.
Love is more important than life.
But it's easy to say – hard to do. If a person forcibly convinces themselves that love is more important than anything, and the instinct of self-preservation means nothing, they will simply perish. Jesus Christ came to help people prioritize love. From the perspective of Judaism, the instinct of self-preservation is more important than love, and faith is linked to fear: fear inhibits and helps to restrain the instinct of self-preservation.
In the Old Testament, it is said that God will punish those who do not follow the commandments. Fear of punishment is the main condition of Jewish faith. And Christ's commandments are directed to the soul of a person in need of love, affirming that love is more important than the instinct of self-preservation.
The scene of Christ's temptation in the desert explains and proves that love is more important than that part of the soul which is directed towards this world, love is more important than the spirit, that is, our future, our prosperity, love is more important than the body. Christ implemented this program of overcoming greed during his time on Earth.
When a person turns to God in prayer, their first impulse should not be hope for physical salvation, not a desire for protection, not a desire to surpass others, to rise above them, not fear for their life.
Our first impulse should always be a feeling of love. How to prioritize love? When we turn to God in prayer, we must understand that love for Him is a guarantee of our life.
Since God is the Source of our life and our prosperity, when we turn to Him, we must understand and feel that our life and prosperity are not primary, but secondary.
This is possible if we think about God more often than about our survival, our life, and prosperity. Every person, controlling the situation, constantly adjusts their condition, like a ship in open sea. There must be a constant check of the ship's condition, its readiness to sail. We must check our course and react to possible dangers. That is, any living creature that strives to survive must constantly implement a system of tactical goals for its own protection.
In order to think about love more often than about our life and its protection, we must acknowledge that God gives us love every split second, and without this love we will have neither life, nor prosperity, nor future, - not only us, but also our descendants. We must depart from religious beliefs according to which God is somewhere far away, in heaven, does not intervene in our earthly affairs, and only occasionally is present on Earth and implements His will. And the next time it will happen is during the Last Judgment, when the Kingdom of God will begin.
Such a view of the Almighty excludes the possibility of prioritizing love as the main need of a person. Christ spoke about how not even a hair falls from a person's head without the highest will: «But the very hairs of your head are all numbered...»
That is, every split second God governs the world, His will is present in our world constantly, continuously. In order to prioritize love, it is necessary to understand that the will of the Almighty permeates the entire Universe. The will of the Almighty governs the entire world, the entire Universe every split second. We interact with the Creator constantly, - only not on the external level, but on the internal, deep level, on the level of our immortal soul. We receive from God love and energy, in which the seeds of our health and prosperity are laid.
If we do not prioritize love, then we lose this energy, and after that our future begins to disappear, our descendants, and then we ourselves.
God is the source of everything. God is one, - which means that He gives everything and takes everything. Therefore, worshiping something or someone other than God leads to the loss of the main life energy and, ultimately, to death: when the soul turns away from God, a person becomes non-viable, loses their future. That is why it is said in the Bible that God is a jealous God, taking away what we love more than Him. This describes the laws of the Universe, the laws of the development of our soul.
Since the source of our life is the Creator, love for Him is a natural feeling accompanied by a natural feeling of happiness. Love for God is happiness, it is an opportunity to develop, an opportunity to survive.
In order to preserve and strengthen our life, in order to become happy, we must fulfill the will of the Almighty, we must be open to the Creator's will, we must feel unity with God. For this, it is necessary to change our character and transform our personality.
S.N. Lazarev, «Overcoming Pride»
Log In to post comments