The Sermon on the Mount_ The Key to Success in Life - Emmet Fox [27]
The logical consequence of this undeniable fact is very startling. It means that if you entertain covetous thoughts for your neighbor’s money, you are a thief at heart, even though you may not yet have put your hand in the till; and if you continue to entertain such thoughts, it is only a question of time before you will rob him. If you willingly nourish hatred, you are a murderer at heart, even though your hands have not moved to kill. The adulterer at heart is corrupting his soul even though his impure thought is never expressed on the physical plane. Lust, jealousy, vengeance, mentally entertained, carry the soul’s consent: and this soul-consent is the malice of sin, whether the corresponding outer acts be yet materialized or not. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”
CHAPTER 4
Resist Not Evil
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.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it 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.
(MATTHEW V)
THE soul’s integrity is the one and only thing that matters. We have no problem but to bring this about, no need but to obtain this; for having this, we have all. And so Jesus in his teaching is almost exclusively concerned in impressing us with the overwhelming fact of its importance, and with instructing us in how we are to accomplish it. He insists that positively no sacrifice can be too great to insure the integrity of one’s soul. Anything, anything that stands in the way of that, must be given up. Cost what it will, involve what it may, the integrity of the soul must be preserved; for all other things—conduct, health, prosperity; for all other things—conduct, health, prosperity, life itself—follow upon that. Better sacrifice your right eye itself, he says, or cut off your very right hand, if need be, that your soul may obtain the clarity of understanding that is salvation.
It matters not what the thing may be that is standing between us and our true contact with God—it must go. It may be a sin, it may be an old grudge left unforgiven, it may be stark greed for the things of this world; but whatever it is, it must go. Such things as these, however, are so obvious that at least the transgressor is certain to be aware of them; it is the subtle things like self-love and his brother self-righteousness, spiritual pride, and so forth, that are most difficult for the self to detect and to exercise—but it must be done. It sometimes happens that the practice of a certain profession, or the association with certain people, or membership of some particular body is what is standing in our way; and if such is the case, we must not hesitate; the price must be paid.
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
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.
(Matthew V)
We are told that in those days divorces were granted by the Rabbinical law on the most trifling grounds. Married people who were not getting on together as well as they would have liked, were too prone to run away from that problem by obtaining an easy dissolution, and then trying their luck with someone else. Now we understand that no permanent happiness can be obtained in this way. As long as you are running away from your problem, you will continue to meet it in a new guise at every turn in the road. The scientific solution is to meet your difficulty where you are by means of spiritual treatment or scientific prayer. This applies to problems concerning