THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM

Allan Kardec

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BEHOLD THE FOWLS OF THE AIR


6. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon Earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.' for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.. and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. wherefore, if God clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew, 6: 19-21 & 25-34).

7. In a literal translation these words would be a denial of all providence, of all work and consequently of all progress. With this kind of principle Man would be limited to waiting passively. His physical and intellectual strengths would remain inactive. If such were the normal conditions on Earth we would never have left the primitive state, and if this condition became the law today then it would only remain to live in total idleness. This could not have been the thought of Jesus, since this would be a contradiction of what He said on other occasions and also contradict the Laws of Nature. God created Man without clothes or shelter, but He gave him intelligence so as to be able to make them (See chapter 14, item 6 & chapter 25, item 2).

Consequently these words must not be seen as anything more than the poetical allegory of Providence, which never abandons those who put their confidence in her, but wishes that all work in their turn. If Providence does not always come in the form of material help, then it inspires those ideas from which is found the means of getting out of difficulty (See chapter 27, item 8).


God comprehends our necessities and provides for them when needed. Nevertheless, Man is insatiable in his desires and does not always know how to be content with what he has. Possessing what is necessary is not enough for him; he demands that which is superfluous. Then Providence leaves him to himself. Frequently he becomes unhappy through his own fault, and for having paid no attention to the voice which, through the intermediary of his conscience, has given him warning. In these cases the Lord lets him suffer the consequences so that it may serve as a lesson for the future (See chapter 5, item 4).

8. The Earth will produce sufficient to feed all its inhabitants when Man discovers how to administer the benefits which it offers according to the Laws of Justice, Charity and Love for one's neighbour. When fraternity reigns amongst all peoples, as it does amongst the provincials of any country, then the momentary superfluity of the one will overcome the insufficiency of another, and everyone will have what is necessary. Then the rich man will consider himself as one who possesses a great quantity of seeds. If he shares them with others they will produce a thousandfold for himself and for them. However, if he eats all the seeds himself, or wastes them and allows the surplus from what he ate to be lost, then nothing will be produced and he will take nothing out of this for others. If he hoards the seeds in his barn then the maggots will devour them. Hence Jesus had said. "Do not accumulate treasures on Earth because they are perishable, but accumulate them in Heaven where they are eternal." In other words, do not give material possessions more importance than the spiritual ones, and know how to sacrifice the first for the second (See chapter 16, item 7 onwards).

Charity and fraternity are not decreed under law. If one or the other is not in the heart then selfishness will rule. Consequently it is the task of Spiritism to see that they both penetrate the heart of man.

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