39. Earthly Possessions
The question often arises as to whether a person should part with earthly goods or disregard them when striving for spiritual gain. It would be foolish to lay down such a principle! When it is said that man must not cling to earthly goods as soon as he strives for the Kingdom of Heaven, this does not mean that he should give away or throw away earthly goods in order to live in poverty. Man can and should joyfully enjoy what God makes available to him through His Creation. To “not be attached” to earthly goods only means that a person should not allow himself to be carried away to such an extent that he sees the gathering of earthly goods as the highest purpose of his life on earth, and therefore to "cling" primarily to this one thought. Such an attitude would quite naturally distract him from higher goals. He would then have no more time for higher aims and would cling with all the fibres of his being only to this one goal of acquiring earthly possessions. Whether it be for the sake of the goods themselves, or for the pleasure that possession makes possible, or even for other purposes, it makes no difference; for basically, the result would basically always be the same. Man is thus attached and binds himself to the purely earthly, whereby he loses his view upwards and is not able to ascend.
This false conception, that earthly goods do not belong to a spiritual striving for higher things has led to the nonsensical notion among the majority of people that all spiritual endeavours must have nothing in common with earthly goods if they are to be taken seriously. The damage that humanity has done to itself in this way has, strangely enough, never occurred to them.
They thus devalue themselves spiritually, and therefore the highest gifts that can be bestowed on them; for, since this strange attitude meant that all spiritual endeavours were casualties to the dependence on sacrifices and donations, similar to beggars, the same attitude that arises towards beggars also crept in unnoticed towards spiritual endeavours. As a result, these endeavours were never able to gain the respect that they deserved in the first place. For the same reason, however, these endeavours themselves always had to carry the germ of death within them from the outset, because they could never stand firmly on their own footing, but always remained dependent on people’s goodwill. It is precisely in order to protect and to preserve what is his most sacred, his spirit, from humanity, that an earnest striver must not despise worldly goods! In the Gross Material World they must primarily serve him now as a shield to ward off like with like. An unhealthy state would be brought about if, in the time of the materialists, those striving spiritually upwards were to despise the strongest weapon of unscrupulous opponents! This would be a recklessness that could revenge oneself badly.
Therefore, you true believers, do not despise earthly goods, which could only be provided for by the Will of the God you seek to honour! But do not let yourselves be lulled to sleep by the comfort that the possession of earthly goods can bring, but make healthy use of them.
The same applies with the special gifts of such forces that serve to heal various diseases, or with similar beneficial abilities. In the most naïve, or should we say in the most blatant way, people assume that these abilities are made available to them free of charge, because yes, they have also been given to them as a special gift from the spiritual world to practice. It even goes so far that some people still expect a special expression of joy when they have “condescended” to avail themselves of such help in times of great need. Such people must be excluded from all help, even if it were the only help that could still help them!
Human beings who are therefore gifted should first learn to assess their gift from God more highly themselves, so that pearls are not again and again thrown before swine. They need far more physical and ethereal force and time to provide serious help than a lawyer in his best time needs to give his best defence plea, or a doctor to make sick calls, or a painter to produce a picture. It would never occur to anyone to expect a lawyer, a doctor or a painter to work for free, even though a good power of comprehension, like any other talent, is only a “gift from God”, nothing else. Throw off these beggarly clothes at last and show yourselves in the robe that befits you.
