893- Which is the most meritorious of all the virtues?
“All virtues are meritorious because all are signs of progress on the path of the good. There is always virtue when there is voluntary resistance to the allure of evil tendencies. However, the highest virtue consists in the sacrifice of one’s own interests for the good of one’s neighbor without ulterior motives. The greatest merit is that which is based on the most disinterested charity.”
894- There are persons who do good through a spontaneous impulse without having to struggle with any contrary sentiment. Do they deserve the same merit as those who have to struggle against their own nature, and who manage to overcome it?
“Those who do not have to struggle have already made progress. They struggled and triumphed in the past. That is why good sentiments cost them no effort and their actions seem so easy – doing good has become a habit for them. They should be honored as old warriors who have earned their ranks. “Since you are still far from perfection, such examples surprise you by their contrast and you admire them so much because they are rare. However, you must know that in worlds more advanced than yours, what is the exception among you has become the rule. The sentiment of the good is spontaneous everywhere on those worlds because they are inhabited only by good spirits, and a single bad intention would be a monstrous exception. That is why humans are so happy there. The same will occur on the earth when humanity transforms itself, and when it understands and practices charity in its true meaning.”
895- Besides the defects and vices about which no one can be mistaken, what is the most characteristic sign of imperfection?
“Self-centeredness. Moral qualities many times do not stand up when put to the test, like copper gilding that cannot withstand the test of the touchstone. Individuals may possess real qualities that make them appear moral to the world. However, while such qualities do indicate progress, they do not always bear up under certain trials, and sometimes it takes only one touch of self-centeredness to unmask these individuals’ real character. True selflessness is in fact so rare on earth that it is admired as a remarkable phenomenon when it displays itself. “Attachment to material things is a notorious indication of impurity because the more humans are attached to the things of this world, the less they understand their true destiny. Through selflessness, however, they show that they see the future from a more evolved point of view.”
896- There are selfless individuals who nonetheless lack discernment, and who waste their possessions without real benefit because they do not know how to use them reasonably. Will they have any merit?
“They have merit for their selflessness but not for the potential good they could do. If selflessness is a virtue, thoughtless squandering is always, at the very least, a lack of judgment. Fortune is not given to some to be cast to the wind any more than it is given to others to be locked up in a safe. It is a deposit for which they will have to render an account. They will have to answer for all the good they could have done but did not do, and for all the tears they could have dried with the money they gave away to those who were not actually needy.”
897- Are those blameworthy who do good without seeking a reward on earth, but in the hope that it may be taken into account in the next life so that their situation there may be better? And does such a thought harm their advancement?
“One must do good out of charity, that is, selflessly.”
– Nevertheless, all have the very natural desire to progress in order to emerge from the painful situation of this life. The Spirits teach us to do good with that purpose in mind. So would it be wrong to think that through practicing the good we may hope for a better situation?
“Certainly not; however, those who do good without ulterior motives, who do it for the sole pleasure of being pleasing to God and their suffering neighbor, have already found a certain degree of advancement, which will enable them to attain happiness more quickly than those who do good through calculation and not through the natural impulse of their heart.” (See no. 894)
– Shouldn’t we make a distinction here between the good that can be done for our neighbor and the care we devote to correcting our own defects? We know that doing good with the thought that it will be counted to us in the next life has little merit, but would it also be a sign of impurity if we were to amend ourselves, conquer our passions and correct our character with the aim of bringing ourselves nearer to the good spirits and of receiving a higher position in the spirit world?
“No, no; by ‘doing good’ we merely mean being charitable. Those who calculate what each one of their good actions can render them in the other life or in the earthly life proceed selfishly. But there is no selfishness in improving oneself in the hope of drawing nearer to God because that is the objective for all.”
898- Since the corporeal life is only an ephemeral sojourn on this world and since our future life should be our principal concern, is it worthwhile to put forth the effort to acquire scientific knowledge that only bears upon material things and necessities?
“Absolutely. First, it enables you to help your brothers and sisters. Next, your spirit will evolve more quickly if it has progressed intellectually. In the hiatus between incarnations you will learn in one hour what would require years on earth. No knowledge is useless; it all contributes to some degree to advancement because the perfected spirit must know everything. Since progress must be made in every sense, all acquired ideas help the development of the spirit.”
899- Of two wealthy individuals, one was born in opulence and has never known need, whereas the other owes his fortune to his own labor. However, both employ their wealth exclusively for their own personal satisfaction. Which one is the more culpable?
“The one who has known hardship. He knows what it means to suffer but does not relieve it in others; as usually happens, he no longer remembers his hardship.”
900- Do those who continue to accumulate assets without benefiting anyone have a valid excuse in saying that they are doing so in order to leave the assets to their heirs?
“It attests to their bad principles.”
901- Of two misers, the first deprives himself of necessities and dies of want atop his treasure, whereas the second is only stingy toward others but is extravagant toward himself. While he recoils before the smallest sacrifice to render a service or do something useful, nothing seems better to him than satisfying his own tastes and passions. If a favor is asked of him, he is always ill-willed, but if a whim strikes, he is always ready to satisfy it. Which of them is guiltier and which of them will have the worse place in the spirit world?
“The one who spends. He is more selfish than the miser. The miser has already received part of his punishment.”
902- Is it wrong to desire wealth with the desire to do good?
“Such a sentiment is of course laudable if it is pure. But is such a desire always disinterested enough? Doesn’t it hide a personal ulterior motive? Isn’t the first person to whom we wish to do good many times our own self?”
903- Is it wrong to study others’ defects?
“If it is for the purpose of criticizing and divulging them it is wrong because it displays a lack of charity. If it is with the intention of applying it to oneself in order to avoid the same defects it may be useful. You must not forget, however, that tolerance for the defects of others is one of the virtues entailed in charity. Before criticizing people’s imperfections, think about whether others may say the same about you. So try to possess qualities that are opposite to the defects you criticize in others. This is a means of perfecting yourself. If you criticize them for being avaricious, be generous; for being harsh, be nice; for acting with pettiness, be expansive in all your actions. In a word, act in such a way that these words of Jesus may not apply to you: ‘You see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not see the beam in your own.’”
904- Is it wrong for a person to probe the ills of society and expose them?
“That depends on the sentiment leading the person to do so. If a writer only wants to create a scandal, he or she does so out of personal pleasure, publishing material that generally sets a bad example rather than a good one. The spirit enjoys it, but it can be punished for the pleasure it feels in revealing evil.”
– In such cases, how can we judge a writer’s purity of intention and sincerity?
“There is no need to do so. If the message is good, benefit from it; if it is bad, it becomes a problem for the writer’s own conscience. Moreover, if writers desire to prove their sincerity, it falls to them to support their principles by setting their own example.”
905- Some authors have published works that are beautiful and morally uplifting, which help the progress of humankind, but which they themselves do not take advantage of. As spirits, will the good they have done through their works be taken into account?
“Morality without action is like the seed without the sowing. What use is the seed if you do not make it grow in order to feed you? Those persons are guiltier because they possessed the intelligence to understand. Having not practiced the maxims they offered to others, they fail to harvest the fruit.”
906- Is it reprehensible for those who do good to be conscious of their deeds and to acknowledge them to the-selves?
“Since they can be aware of the evil they do, they must be equally aware of the good in order to know if they act rightly or wrongly. It is in weighing all their actions on the scales of God’s law – especially on those of the law of justice, love, and charity – that they can tell whether their actions are good or bad, and thus approve or disapprove of them. Hence, they cannot be at fault for recognizing the fact that they have triumphed over their evil tendencies, and for being satisfied for having done so, provided they do not grow vain, for that would be to fall into another wrong.” (See no. 919)
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