Human Experience

Chapter 1

Greed

Greed: A selfish and excessive desire for more or something (such as money) than is needed motivated by naked ambition and greed.

Material/selfishness/greed. Let us look at this combination of words.

Material is the substance of which a thing is made of and composed. The body is made of flesh; therefore, I think that we can safely say the body is a material thing. Selfishness is devoted to or carrying only for oneself; concerned primarily with one’s own interests, benefits, welfare.

The human experience becomes contaminated and distorted when we practice material selfishness –greed. What is the root of slavery? Is it not when we are driven by profit? When we are driven by gain and personal prosperity –all of which fall under the same tree – greed.

What is the root of poverty? What is a contributing factor to human spiritual retardation? In the United States we proudly declare that In God We Trust. It is even printed on our currency. It would not be too far-fetched in this country to think that the God who is being trusted is green, silver, bronze. Dollar bills, coins of silver and bronze. Let us look at the word, capitalism.

Capitalism: An economic system in which investment in an ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made, and maintain chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

Keywords: Economic system, ownership, production, distribution, private, individuals, corporations. Which leads to an exchange of wealth.

Capitalism is the mother of greed and selfishness. Material selfishness is the father of capitalism. Let us look at some scriptures that speak about greed:

"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." Luke 12:15-23

I would like to comment here on what Christ said about take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, neither for the body what ye shall put on. The Spirit is telling me that Christ is saying don’t put your focus on material things. Do not become subject-blinded by greed.

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Mark 4:19

The deceitfulness of riches, the lust of other things will choke the Word; in other words, the Spirit will not grow. You see, the one that you feed the most will be the one that will grow the most. If we feed the Spirit, it will subjugate the flesh but opposite to that is if we feed the flesh, it will subjugate the Spirit, creating the open door for material selfishness, greed.

To subjugate means to bring under complete control or subjection: to conquer; master. To make submissive or subservient; to enslave. We have the fruits of the spirit in opposition to the works of the flesh.

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. James 5:1-6

I personally think that the scripture speaks well for itself. Miseries that shall come upon you — rich men. Not only because of rich, but because a mindset has caused them to condemn and kill the just, and I mean not by just physical death but by creating poverty and living by greed.

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Ecclesiastes 5:10

The concept of greed must be overcome by the concept of generosity, which is born in love. The root word for generosity is generous, and in the word generous, it characterizes a noble kind of spirit. Liberal in giving, sharing, and building as opposed to killing, stealing, and destroying.

Generosity: Freedom from meanness or smallness of mind and character in a readiness to share, to give. The contrast between greed and generosity clearly portrays the contrast between good and evil. Therefore, greed must be subjugated by the spirit of generosity.

If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Deuteronomy 15:7-8

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Psalm 119:36

As I said earlier, the glaring difference between greed and generosity clearly personifies the glaring difference between good and evil– between flesh and Spirit. Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world; in other words, the Spirit far exceeds the flesh or the material. Generosity is formed in our hearts — the core.

The greed is the manifestation of a subjugated spirit. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4

So, greed vs. generosity vs. flesh. Buddha said greed is one of the three poisons, and poison destroys life and impairs health; it is harmful.

Chapter 2

Anger

Anger: A strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a long (this is the common definition given for anger in the dictionary.

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. Matthew 5:22

The Word of God says whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause. What is a cause? The reason or motive or some human actions. Those causes range from violence, strong emotions, physical or emotional injury; a feeling of being wronged. Which in some cases results to catastrophic violence. Anger can also be based on jealousy.

rate of burning anger;

uncontrolled fury;

passionate anger.

Both God and man/woman are capable of anger and note that human anger is based on emotions –at the rear root. God’s anger is divine and different from the anger of man.

When God is angry, it is based upon divine principles; it is based upon the blatant disregard of the esoteric teachings of the Christ, or the Word He Himself has taught mankind. Also, we must realize that God’s anger is directed towards justice and righteousness.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21

I should point out that this –in no way means that we are to allow anyone to abuse, mistreat us. It by no means insinuates mental subjugation. It is telling us to not allow the lack of a moral compass of others to destroy or misdirect your own moral compass.

Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche. Quote Source: Beyond Good and Evil."

The working of iniquity: the intent of one’s actions that are contrary to the concept of righteousness. The word righteousness, simply put, means right thinking; any time we apply our thinking contrary to the mind of God. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus.

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:1-5

As human beings, many times we are unable to apply the right mindset. Sometimes it is a mistake and sometimes it is neglect and sometimes it’s done on purpose; when we purposely engage the wrong mindset, this provokes the anger of God.

Anger, when used by God is provoked by sin, incorrect conduct, incorrect thinking and a prideful lack of acknowledgment and praise for God.

Again, I say God’s anger is provoked by the sinful nature of man, the scriptures that will support this statement to list a few.

Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord. Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you. Deuteronomy 9:7-8

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me