9210. 'You shall not be like a money-lender' means that it must be done in a spirit of charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'a money-lender' as someone who does good for the sake of gain; for a money-lender entrusts money to another for the sake of interest and gives help to another for the sake of reward. And since real charity does not have gain or reward as the end in view, but the neighbour's good, 'you shall not be like a money-lender' means that the thing must be done in a spirit of charity. Anyone who does not know what Christian charity is may think that it consists not only in giving to the needy and poor but also in doing good to his fellow citizen, country, or Church for any reason whatever, that is, with no matter what end in view. But he should recognize that the end is what gives all of a person's deeds their true character. If the end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, in order to acquire important positions or else monetary gain, the good that he does is not good because it is done for the sake of self and thus also originates in self. But if the end is to do good for his fellow citizen's, country's, or Church's sake, thus for his neighbour's sake, the good he does is good since it is done for the sake of good itself, which in general is the real neighbour, 5025, 6706, 6711, 6712, 8123, and so is also done for the Lord's sake since such good does not have its origin in the person but in the Lord, and what originates in the Lord is the Lord's. This is the good that is meant by the Lord in Matthew,

Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:40.

[2] As it is with good, so it is also with truth. Those who do the truth for its own sake do it also for the Lord's sake since it comes from Him. Doing truth for its own sake is doing good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes out into actions. Doing good in this manner is Christian charity. People who do good in the spirit of Christian charity may sometimes look for reputation earned as a result of doing it, so as to obtain an important position or else monetary gain. But their attitude is altogether different from that of anyone for whom these things are his end in view. For they regard what is good and right as the essential, one and only thing that matters, and accordingly rank it in highest position. As for monetary gain in comparison with this, or an important position, or reputation for the sake of them, they regard as non-essential, and accordingly rank it in lowest position. When the eyes of people such as these are fixed on what is right and good they are like soldiers fighting in battle for their country. During it they give no thought at all to their life, nor thus to their status or their assets in the world, which compared with what they are doing are of no importance to them. But those who rank self and the world at the top are the kind of people who do not even see what is right and good, because their eyes are fixed on themselves and on gain.

[3] All this shows what doing good for a selfish or a worldly reason is, what doing good for the Lord's or for the neighbour's sake is, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as that between heaven and hell. Furthermore those who do good for their neighbour's or for the Lord's sake are in heaven; but those who do it for a selfish or a worldly reason are in hell. For those who do good for their neighbour and the Lord's sake love the Lord above all things and their neighbour as themselves - commandments which are 'the first of all the commandments', Mark 12:28-31. But those who do everything for selfish and worldly reasons love themselves above all things, thus more than God; and they not only despise their neighbour but also hate him if he does not make common cause with them and align himself with them. This is the meaning of the Lord's teaching in Matthew,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.

There are people who do serve both; but they are called 'lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, who are spewed out', Revelation 3:15-16. All this now shows what money-lenders who took interest represented, namely those who do good for the sake of gain.

[4] It makes plain the origin of this prohibition, that they were not to be like a money-lender, charging a brother interest, as again declared elsewhere in Moses,

You shall not charge your brother interest on silver, interest on food, interest on anything on which it is charged. A foreigner you shall charge interest, but your brother you shall not charge interest; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in everything to which you set your hand ¹ in the land which you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Leviticus 25:36-38.

'Charging a brother interest on silver' means lending truths, that is, giving instruction in them, for the sake of gain, 'charging interest on food' hiring out forms of the good of truth for the sake of gain; for 'silver' means truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, and 'food' the good of truth, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562. The reason why those who do not charge it are blessed by Jehovah in everything to which they set their hand in the land is that their affection is for goodness and truth, so that the happiness which angels in heaven possess is theirs; for that affection, or the good of that love, holds heaven within it for a person, 6478, 9174. The reason why foreigners could be charged interest was that those who do not acknowledge anything of goodness or truth and are unreceptive of them are meant by 'foreigners', 7996, that is, they are those who do good solely for the sake of gain. These must serve a person, for in comparison they are servants or slaves, 1097. In David,

He walks blameless and does righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He does not lend his silver at interest, and does not take a bribe ² against the innocent. He who does this will never be moved. Psalms 15:2, 5.

'Lending his silver at interest' means teaching for the sake solely of gain, thus doing good for the sake of reward. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

A righteous man who executes judgement and righteousness does not lend at interest and does not take increase. Ezekiel 18:5, 8.

In the same prophet,

He who withdraws his hand from the needy, does not take interest or increase, executes My judgements, [and] walks in My statutes will surely live. Ezekiel 18:17.

In the same prophet,

In you they have taken bribes ² to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and seized gain of your companions by violence. Ezekiel 22:12.

These things are said about 'the city of blood', by which falsity destroying truth and good is meant, 9127. 'Taking interest and increase' means doing good for the sake of gain and reward, thus not in a spirit of charity. In true charity there is no thought of earning a reward, see 2371, 2373, 2400, 4007, 4174, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6478.

Poznámky pod čarou:

2219. 'They looked towards the face of Sodom' means the state of the human race. This is clear from the meaning of 'looking towards the face', here 'towards the face of Sodom'. In the Word 'the face' means all man's interiors - evil as well as good - for the reason that these shine out of the face, as shown in Volume One, in 358. Here therefore, because 'the face' is used in reference to Sodom, it is interior evils, which are those of self-love, that are meant; for interior evils in general are meant by 'Sodom', as will be evident from what follows in the next paragraph. The reason the worst evils of all originate in self-love is that self-love is destructive of human society, as shown above in 2045, and destructive of heavenly society, 2057. And since the perversity of the human race is recognized from that love, here 'the face of Sodom' means the state of the human race.

[2] In addition to this, it has been shown in various places in Volume One what the nature of self-love is, namely a love completely contrary to the order into which man was created. Unlike beasts man was endowed with rationality, to the end that every individual person may will what is good and do what is good to any other, thus to everyone in particular as to all in general. Such is the order into which man was created, and therefore it is love to God and love towards the neighbour which were intended to constitute man's life, which life was to mark him off from animals. Such also is the order of heaven which, it was intended, would exist in man while he was living in the world. He would thus be in the Lord's kingdom, into which he would also pass when he had cast off the body that had served him on earth, and in that kingdom would rise up into a state constantly increasing in heavenly perfection.

[3] But self-love is the chief, indeed the one and only, thing that destroys these loves. Love of the world is not so destructive; for although this is indeed contrary to the spiritual things of faith, self-love is diametrically opposed to the celestial things of love. For someone who loves himself does not love any others but tries to destroy everyone who fails to pay respect to him. Nor does he will what is good and do what is good to anybody except to one who is an extension of himself or can be made to become such, like something into which his evil desires and false notions have been so to speak engrafted. From this it is evident that self-love is the source from which all forms of hatred, all forms of revenge and cruelty well up, and also all forms of disgraceful presence and of deceit - thus every abominable thing that is contrary to the order that belongs to human society and contrary to the order of heavenly society.

[4] Indeed self-love is so abominable that when the restraints placed upon it are lifted, that is, when it is given the opportunity to do whatever it pleases, then even with those who belong to the lowest sort, it rushes with such urgency that it desires not only to exercise dominion over those nearest to it and over those close by, but also over the universe and even over the Supreme Divine Being Himself. Man is not indeed aware of this because he is held back by restraints he knows little about. But to the extent these restraints, as has been stated, are removed he very rapidly does the same. This I have been given to know from much experience in the next life. Because these things lie concealed within self-love, people governed by self-love and not endowed with the restraints of conscience, more than all others hate the Lord, and thus hate all the truths of faith, since these are the very laws of order in the Lord's kingdom. Such people dislike these laws so much as to loathe them, and this also shows itself openly in the next life. This love is also the head of the serpent which the seed of the woman, that is, the Lord, treads down, regarding which see Volume One, in 257.

[5] But self-love does not always present itself outwardly in arrogance and pride, for sometimes such people are able to regard the neighbour with charity. Some people are born with this outwardly charitable disposition, while others acquire it during childhood years, but after this it is subdued, though the outward disposition does still remain. But those governed by self-love are such as despise others and regard them as nothing in comparison with themselves. Nor do they have any concern whatever for the common good unless this exists for their benefit, they themselves being so to speak the common good. This applies especially to those who hate and persecute everyone who does not show them favour or serve them, and as far as possible they rob such persons of possessions, honour, reputation, and even life. Let those who behave intentionally in these ways realize that with them pre-eminently self-love is present.