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Jesus,
August 24, 2008.
Understanding the role of money
And thus, my beloved, as the conclusion of this address, I would like
to give you some remarks on the topic of money. For you see, on a
regular basis I see people who find my website, and they are somewhat
critical – and whether they realize this consciously or not
– they are looking for a way to reject it, as the scribes and
Pharisees did to me personally 2,000 years ago.
And so some of them come to the point where they see a donation button,
or they see that we are charging money for the books, my beloved.
And they say, "Oh, this cannot be the real Jesus Christ, for
when he walked the Earth 2,000 years ago, he gave his teachings freely.
And thus, this must be a false Christ. For the real Christ would never
ask for money."
But you see, my beloved, as I started out talking about the false
image of me hanging on the cross, there are many false images of Christ.
And one of them is indeed the image that I had no need for money.
For you see, my beloved, even though society was very different back
then, you must ask yourself, “Did I eat during those last three
years—besides the Last Supper?”
And when you realize that I did, you must ask yourself, where did
that food come from? Do you think I had time to grow it myself, my
beloved? Do you think I had time to work in a carpenter shop and buy
the food for the money I made? No. You see the reality—I focused
all my attention on my mission and traveling around with my disciples.
And those disciples likewise did not grow their food and did not work,
for they spent their entire time traveling with me. So we depended
on the charity of people who were willing to give us of their food,
of their hospitality, and fulfill whatever else needs we had, that
were surely modest. But why were they modest, my beloved? Because
I was a practical realist, and I realized that given the state of
society at the time, the state of technology, there was no way for
me to reach a larger audience than the small area in which I could
travel physically.
And thus, I knew there was no way to reach beyond that area while
I was still in embodiment, as I was indeed focused on setting an example
by working with the most recalcitrant people on the planet. Those
who were so stuck in their graven image of being the chosen people,
that they were the perfect test subjects to see whether they were
willing to abandon that spiritual pride and lose their life –
their sense of superiority, their identity of superiority –
in order to lay down that life and follow Christ into a higher identity,
based on oneness that cannot see one people as being God's favorite
or God's chosen people.
So you see, my beloved, I focused on my mission back then, but I can
assure you that – had the technology been available –
I would have made use of it in order to spread my message beyond that
localized geographical area. And thus, I trust you can see that in
today's world conditions are very different. If I walked the Earth
in a physical body today, my beloved – as I indeed hope to do
through many of you – do you think I would walk around barefoot
in the desert in the Middle East? Or do you think I would be making
use of the technology that is available today to spread my message
far and wide?
Surely, you must see that I will always adapt—that the Living
Christ will always adapt to current conditions, my beloved. And therefore,
you live in a society where there are simply many things that you
cannot do without money. And therefore the question is again: Will
you focus a big part of your time and attention on making that money,
and then you can give away the teachings that you can bring forth
in your spare time? Or will you focus on being a messenger full time
and then let other people provide the increase, my beloved, by donating
or by buying the services and the products you provide?
You see, my beloved, this is a perfectly legal exchange. For when
you dedicate your life to the service of all life, then you are entitled
to a return from life, even a material return. So that you can continue
to do what you are doing, and even expand your work and reach more
people.
As you will know that even the ancient gurus would always ask for
some token offering, whether it be food or flowers, from the student
who came to the feet of the guru. As I indeed did myself on many occasions
that are not recorded in the Bible. And as the churches do today when
they ask for tithing, for even this is, of course, a legal exchange—although
in many cases the churches are misusing the money given to them by
their followers, as they are not in alignment with the reality of
Christ.
Nevertheless, it is indeed legal – according to the laws of
God – that people give of their abundance. And I am in no way
asking anyone to give irresponsibly, but I am asking you to give of
your abundance, my beloved, keeping in mind my parable about the servants
who multiplied their talents and were given more.
Copyright
© 2010 by Kim Michaels |
