Daily Meditation: Monday, July 18, 2011

Hierarchy of values - which we must know and respect

07/18/2011

You do not have the right idea about what is most important to you. How often you lose your peace! That’s right, you keep giving away the peace of your soul for nothing, and then when you want to stand before the Lord you do not have the right inner expression. Sometimes, you also lend your heart and mind to dubious activities: what good does that do you? But there is a hierarchy of values in nature, and from now on you must distinguish what is essential from what is unimportant. This is how you will come into possession of your true riches. In the Gospels we are shown that Jesus possessed this knowledge. Having fasted for forty days in the desert, he was tempted by the devil. ‘You are hungry’, Satan said to him. ‘Why do you not change these stones into bread?… Throw yourself down from the top of the temple; God will send angels to protect you… See all these kingdoms: if you bow down before me, I will give them to you…’ But Jesus rejected the devil’s proposals, proving to him that material advantages were of no interest to him compared to spiritual possessions.