The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 203 -
The benefit of activity and the evil consequences of idleness.
I say, "Not quite; but it is also true that the trades people of this world only too often go beyond and disregard all spiritual things a little too easily, which was also the case with you - Am I right or not?"
2
Shabbi says, "yes, eminent friend full of divine power, it is probably true that worldly trade and the treasures of this Earth, their gain and just use gives one a lot to think and to worry about, but one can then easily make all sorts of useful experiences and awakens some dozing spirits in people to all sorts of useful things through well-used wealth, gives man a useful occupation and removes him thereby from lethargy, which normally is the father of all vices and sins.
3
Just look at the priesthood of almost every nation! As long as these people had to work and win their bread like every other person in the sweat of their brow, they were also the best friends of truth and discovered and calculated many things which with good reason still amaze us today. They brought harmony to human thought and established schools for the true education of the human spirit and the recognition of themselves. In those days such priests found the way to God and led their fellow men to the same realisation full of the spirit and seriously good will.
4
But when the people later recognized the great benevolence of the beautiful and most eminent efforts of the old and true priests more and more and saw their extremely great use, they took all the heavy work of the priests, whom they respected and loved above all else, onto themselves, brought in their tithes and decided that the priests had only to care and work for the human spirit. But then the priesthood soon became lethargic, began to philosophize, walled up the bright truth in dark catacombs and began to feed the gullible people of that time with all sorts of fairy tales and fables; and so the lethargy of the priests became the clear reason for the decay of even the most eminent and divine doctrine by the great and true priest, Moses.
5
Just read Moses and the prophets and compare the present ado of the descendents of Moses and Aaron in Jerusalem, and one will soon and easily find out that they neither believe in Moses nor even less in a god. For if they believed in Moses and in the God that he announced to them, they would not be the most shameful liars and deceivers of the nation which they serve physically and spiritually! But that is all a necessary consequence of calumnious idleness! And so I think that the just wealth in the hands of wise, benevolent and active people is more of a divine temple for the needy people than Solomon's one in Jerusalem!
6
Certainly we trading people do not have much time to devote to all sorts of mystical poetry of the privileged idlers and to complain about how much truth is in it; but we teach the nation to flee idleness and to become true, useful people! So I believe that in this way we are making good our little mistake which you pointed out, that we often hurry up and away from some spiritual things quite frivolously! For I for my part think: It is better to do good by action than to write the most beautiful lessons about it - but to never practice it oneself.
7
What use is our, oh so deep brooding and drivelling however? A mortal will never see behind the true wisdom of God, no, not even lift its outermost veil!
8
But if such a thing is useful for man, God's mercy will awaken another Moses who is a true Messiah, as you now seem to be. He will then certainly lead us in the true wisdom of God, and we will surely accept it as a genuine gift from heaven at any price willingly and gratefully and also be active according to it, because we traders are always good friends of all useful activity for mankind and only use our great earthly wealth to occupy man, which constantly tends towards lethargy and idleness in their nature, with all sorts of good activities for their benefit and for that of others.
9
Tell me, eminent friend, filled with the spirit of God, whether our opinion is good, useful and therefore true, or whether you are in a position to give us an even better one in your wisdom!"