THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 168 -
On greed and thrift.
1
(The Lord) "All vices which have ever been committed by people on this Earth have taken their origin from the greed of individual people. Greed is the father of all sins that can ever be thought of. For at first one hoards up a great fortune, and in every bad and wicked means; fraud, theft and robbery are entirely to be included in this category. Once one is rich, one becomes arrogant and domineering, begins to barricade and secure himself, orders servants and slaves to drive away anyone who approaches the house of a great and high-positioned greedy man, without being invited. The rich man then soon buys up a great piece of land, becomes the legal ruler of it, often acquires via blackmail every property from his subordinates and treats them like a genuine tyrant.
2
Once the greedy man is quite extraordinarily rich, he throws himself into the arms of every possible sensual life of luxury, seduces girls, whores and commits adultery and other shameful actions without any moderation or measure. And because he is the first in his land, he leads astray soon a whole nation through his poor example; for they say: The Lord must of course know better than we. If he does it, we can do it too! And so in the end in such a land everyone begins to steal, rob, murder and sleep around, and there is no longer any trace of recognition of God!
3
Go to those lands and those rich men of the Earth and look in their chronicles and you will find how most of all these rulers initially were highly greedy and avaricious- and profit-seeking normal trading people who over time bought with their treasures lands and people and then made use of them through all sorts of means of violence, even transformed the often very good traditions and religions of the people who had become subservient to them in such a way that there is hardly a trace of the old purity left to be found.
4
Therefore you, Mark, have to pay attention above all that in this healing institute of yours which will be very much visited by people in the near future no greed should slip in! Yes, from this place even an exaggerated thriftiness should remain proscribed; for that is usually the germ of greed!
5
Let everyone have what he needs for life; nobody shall have more in your household. Take into safe custody the personal presents which will often be given to your servants by the guests and give them later back with interest to the servants, but not until they have become old and too weak for serving. And when they die, the savings shall go to their children and grandchildren.
6
Naturally, this advice is meant chiefly for you, but later also for all your descendants. Also, if there is a spendthrift among your servants, admonish him to exercise proper thrift. Deprive him of your favor for a while and show him that a spendthrift is often very selfish and gradually becomes a burden to his brothers instead of helping his poorer brothers with his just savings in times of poverty.
7
Whoever saves only for himself and, in a wider sense, for his own family, does not save according to My order. I commend the one who saves so that he can help his poor brothers in times of poverty and bless his savings so that he will never suffer want.
8
I do not say that no one should save for his children and his household, for this is the first duty of parents. But the poor who are strangers must not be forgotten, for I let My sun shine in the same measure also on those who are not My children.
9
Whoever does as I do, will be as I am and will one day also be where I shall be forever. And who is stingy with his brothers, with him I shall also be stingy and very thrifty.
10
From now on, do heed this precept in your household, and My blessing will never be taken from it. - Now whoever still has a request, let him come forward and ask!"