The greatest of the commandments

Yesterday I posted something about having faith in men as well as in God. Then I read on Facebook afterwards something that made me doubt that humanity or men deserve to be honoured with any one's faith. One girl wrote a message on Facebook showing that she was actually proud of being part of the reason why someone quit their job. I understood that she was this person's superior and she posted on a social network that this situation made her a little bit proud. My God, it is so hard to not judge people and yes, I am so wrong in doing so, but, for heaven's sake, what was she thinking? What drives someone to be proud of something like that? And, even more sad, it's to see that she doesn't only feel proud of that but she also doesn't care about the other human being who took this decision because she contributed somehow to it. It wasn't probably an easy or good decision for that person and it could have been this girl in her shoes, but she doesn't even give it a second thought. Remember my post about the use of good or bad authority? I totally remembered it! Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to her at all...after all, I don't know what happened between these two people and their consciousness is to be judged by God only. But I have this terrible urge to just express my mind and my feelings, especially if something seems so unacceptable and wrong to me! Maybe one day I will learn how to silence my urges...

I opened the Gospel according to Spiritism book right after that to see which message I would get and it was the message below. It is a good one.

Take care! 

Mrs. P 

THE GREATEST OF THE COMMANDMENTS
 

4. But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew, 22: 34-40).
 

5. Charity and humility, such is the only path to salvation. Selfishness and pride are the paths to ruin. This principle is found to be formulated on the following precise terms: "Love your God with all your soul and your neighbour as yourself; all the law and the prophets are contained in these two commandments." And so there would be no mistake in the understanding of the meaning of the love for God and for our neighbour, He then added: "And there is the second commandment, which is similar to the first." This means that it is not possible to truly love God without loving your neighbour, nor to love your neighbour without loving God. Straightaway, all that you do against your neighbour you also do against God. Therefore, as it is not possible to love God without practising charity towards one's neighbour. All of mankind's obligations are resumed in the maxim: without charity there is no salvation.
 

THE NEED FOR CHARITY ACCORDING TO SAINT PAUL
 

6. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, lam nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long and is kind, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, do not behave itself unseemly, skeet not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. And now abideth faith, hope, charity these three; but the greatest of these is charity (SAINT PAUL, I Corinthians, 13:1-7 & 13).
 

7. This is the way in which Saint Paul understood this great truth, which said: 'When I have learned the language of the Angels; "When I have the gift of prophecy, which I can penetrate all the mysteries; When I have all the faith that is possible, even to the point of transporting mountains, if l do not have charity, then lam nothing. Within the three virtues: faith, hope and charity, the most superior of these is charity." In this manner and without any possible doubt, Paul places charity above even faith. This is because charity is within the reach of everybody, from the ignorant to the wise person, from rich to poor people; it is also quite independent of any particular beliefs. He does even more: he defines true charity by showing it as being not only beneficence, but also a collective of all the qualities of the heart, in terms of goodness and benevolence towards all of our fellow beings.

Message from the book Gospel according to Spiritism by Allan Kardec from the chapter "Without charity there's no salvation".