The Bible

 

Matthew 5

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1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

   

Commentary

 

Looking for Good in Other People

By Rev. Donald L. Rose

It is not angelic to seek for the evils with a person unless we at the same time seek for the goods. (Arcana Coelestia 10381).

In this world we should aspire to be like the angels, to have an angelic attitude. The Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church tells us that "No one becomes an angel, that is, comes into heaven, unless he carries with him from the world something of the angelic character" (Divine Providence 60). Now, a notable hallmark of the angelic character is speaking and thinking well of others. People in this world who think and speak well of others "are like the angels" (Arcana Coelestia 1088). These people are contrasted with those who see only evil. Only evil? Can't they see good in other people when it is there? Apparently not, for "If they see anything good they either perceive it as nothing, or put a bad interpretation upon it" (Arcana Coelestia 1079).

Instead we are to look for the good in others. We should look for the qualities and virtues that make someone useful, rather than considering mere externals. "If you were to choose a helper or servant from those in your neighborhood, and ten were brought before your eyes from whom you were to choose one, would you choose from the face alone? Would you not choose from some quality that you love, [such] as integrity, modesty, piety, uprightness? These you would consider as you looked upon them" (Apocalypse Explained 834). Even when good is not evident in someone, we should look for the potential of good. Especially when dealing with children we should look upon them as good, or look for the good in them. For they are potentially good, and of such is the kingdom of heaven.

But what about seeing evil? What kind of judgments do we need to make in the course of our lives? We do have to look for faults in decisions we make. And we will find that some people are simply not suited for certain uses. We put little value on them in this context, "because they are of no ability or endowment, or aptitude to this or that use" (Spiritual Experiences 4347). Even so, we must bear in mind that they are of value in other respects. According to the Sermon on the Mount we are not to say "Raca" of anyone (Matthew 5:21-22), as if they were worthless. "Raca" implies an emptiness (Apocalypse Explained 746:18) is translated in one modern version as "good-for-nothing." We are never make this kind of judgment about others, but we do need be able to when someone's actions are not useful in a certain situation. In a cynical world we could easily fall into the illusion that it is wise be critical of others, pick out their errors to be suspicious of any good in them. But someone who does not look for good who does not look from good is not really wise. The Heavenly Doctrine says that such a person "regards everybody as being in falsity, is ready rebuke, chastise to punish; has no pity does not apply or adapt himself others" (Arcana Coelestia 1949). If our "prudence" goes to the extreme, we will make the mistake of thinking that the angelic way of looking at others is naive and dangerous. And yet, in this very effort to avoid danger, we may alienate the spirit of charity and open ourselves to the dangers of infernal influence (see Arcana Coelestia 1088). Let us not forget that it is not angelic to seek for the faults of others unless at the same time, we are seeking for the good in them.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 21; Divine Providence 60-67)