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"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of
God;" (1) and if so, woe be to the rich in spirit, for theirs must
be the bitterness of hell. By rich in spirit I mean him whose
riches engross his mind, or whose mind is buried in his riches.
He is poor in spirit whose heart is not filled with the love of
riches, whose mind is not set upon them. The halcyon builds its
nest like a ball, and leaving but one little aperture in the upper
part, launches it on the sea, so secure and impenetrable, that the
waves carry it along without any water getting in, and it floats
on the sea, superior, so to say, to the waves.
And this, my child, is what your heart should be--open only to
heaven, impenetrable to riches and earthly treasures. If you have
them, keep your heart from attaching itself to them; let it
maintain a higher level, and amidst riches be as though you had
none,--superior to them. Do not let that mind which is the
likeness of God cleave to mere earthly goods; let it always be
raised above them, not sunk in them.
There is a wide difference between having poison and being
poisoned. All apothecaries have poisons ready for special uses,
but they are not consequently poisoned, because the poison is only
in their shop, not in themselves; and so you may possess riches
without being poisoned by them, so long as they are in your house
or purse only, and not in your heart. It is the Christian's
privilege to be rich in material things, and poor in attachment to
them, thereby having the use of riches in this world and the merit
of poverty in the next.
Of a truth, my daughter, no one will ever own themselves to be
avaricious;--every one denies this contemptible vice:--men excuse
themselves on the plea of providing for their children, or plead
the duty of prudent forethought:--they never have too much, there
is always some good reason for accumulating more; and even the
most avaricious of men not only do not own to being such, but
sincerely believe that they are not; and that because avarice is
as a strong fever which is all the less felt as it rages most
fiercely.
Moses saw that sacred fire which burnt the bush without
consuming it, (2) but the profane fire of avarice acts precisely
the other way,--it consumes the miser, but without burning, for,
amid its most intense heat, he believes himself to be deliciously
cool, and imagines his insatiable thirst to be merely natural and
right.
If you long earnestly, anxiously, and persistently after what you
do not possess, it is all very well to say that you do not wish to
get it unfairly, but you are all the time guilty of avarice. He
who longs eagerly and anxiously to drink, though it may be water
only, thereby indicates that he is feverish. I hardly think we can
say that it is lawful to wish lawfully to possess that which is
another's:--so doing we surely wish our own gain at the expense of
that other? and he who possesses anything lawfully, surely has
more right to possess it, than we to obtain it? Why should we
desire that which is his? Even were the wish lawful, it is not
charitable, for we should not like other men to desire what we
possess, however lawfully. This was Ahab's sin when he sought to
acquire Naboth's vineyard by lawful purchase, when Naboth lawfully
desired to keep it himself;--he coveted it eagerly, continually,
and anxiously, and so doing he displeased God. (3)
Do not allow yourself to wish for that which is your
neighbour's until he wishes to part with it,--then his wish will
altogether justify yours,-- and I am quite willing that you should
add to your means and possessions, provided it be not merely with
strict justice, but kindly and charitably done.
If you cleave closely to your possessions, and are cumbered
with them, setting your heart and thoughts upon them, and
restlessly anxious lest you should suffer loss, then, believe me,
you are still somewhat feverish;--for fever patients drink the
water we give them with an eagerness and satisfaction not common
to those who are well.
It is not possible to take great pleasure in anything without
becoming attached to it. If you lose property, and find yourself
grievously afflicted at the loss, you may be sure that you were
warmly attached to it;--there is no surer proof of affection for
the thing lost than our sorrow at its loss.
Therefore, do not fix your longings on anything which you do
not possess; do not let your heart rest in that which you have; do
not grieve overmuch at the losses which may happen to you;--and
then you may reasonably believe that although rich in fact, you
are not so in affection, but that you are poor in spirit, and
therefore blessed, for the Kingdom of Heaven is yours.
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