the old law and the new.
everyone who has compared the teachings of the law of moses with those of jesus must have been impressed with the essential difference between those teaching's. the old law always emphasized the actual, or material, elements of life, and provided punishment for deeds actually committed. thus the law of moses exhorted, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not do this or that. and if one violated this material law, he became liable to the penalty—but only if he actually committed a deed in violation of law. jesus, on the other hand, went back of the act to the state of mind that prompted the act. in other words, the essential thing in the philosophy of jesus was not the act itself, but the motive back of it. instead of "thou shalt not kill," jesus said, "whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." jesus did not say. thou shalt not commit acts of immorality, but, he that entertains an impure thought is already guilty of the immoral act.
the teaching of jesus psychological.
jesus was not a psychologist in the modern sense, yet this teaching of jesus is psychologically true. our acts are but the fruits of thoughts that have found lodgment, care, and nourishment in our minds. our minds, indeed, are but gardens. seed-thoughts are blown into them by this wind and by that. involuntarily as well as voluntarily suggestions come into the mind. now, if the seed-thoughts that are waited into the mind-garden are good, and are carefully tended and nurtured, the garden {238} will bear good fruit—the acts performed will be charitable and clean. but if the seed-thoughts that find lodgment in the mind are noxious, and if these noxious seeds—these destructive weeds of the mind—be tended and nurtured, then the acts resulting therefrom will necessarily be evil.
a concrete example.
let us turn from this abstract discussion to the concrete example. do you know why a good boy, who has been taught all his life to keep his body clean from the loathsome poison of tobacco, sometimes takes to smoking cigarettes in spite of his teaching? the reason is perfectly clear. the boy has been tempted. a noxious seed-thought has found lodgment in the boy's mind. now, had the boy been really strong, had he gone to like a good gardener, hoe in hand, and cleaned out the weeds, the noxious plants could never have bloomed nor borne fruit. but because the boy entertained the evil thought, gave it nourishment and tended it, it grew and spread until the good seed and fruitage of his conscience were crowded out of the mind. one thought, then, remained in power; and on that thought the boy acted. he became a smoker of cigarettes.
the motive all important.
such examples as this might be multiplied without limit. if you will examine your own acts, you will find that every act of yours is the result of a preconceived thought, entertained and fed. is it not clear, then, that the teaching of jesus is far better than the teaching of the old law? it is more important to train the mind and to guard the motives, than merely to guard one's acts. if one's {239} motives are pure, wholesome, and sound, one's acts cannot but be so also.
jesus's doctrine of rewards.
now, just as jesus differed in his teaching of the ultimate basis of the moral life from the teaching of the old law, so he differed from the old law in his teachings about rewards. amongst the jews of the time of jesus, the fear of punishment or the hope of immediate good fortune constituted the primary motive of a good life. in other words, rewards—more or less material and immediate—were in the old law the inspiration to action. jesus would do away with such an attitude toward charitable living. he would have people do good for the good's sake; he would have people live right for the sake of right living, he would have people work righteousness for the sake of righteousness. and he emphasized and drove home the thought that if any one worked merely to increase his own honor and to exalt himself in the eyes of men, he should fail, and should be humiliated in the attempt.
a parable in point.
"it came to pass," says the new testament narrative, "as (jesus) went into the house of one of the chief pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. . . . "and he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them. when thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee. give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. but when thou {240} art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher: then thou shalt have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
"for whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
a sound psychological principle.
here again jesus announces a sound, psychological principle. men who crowd and push themselves forward always arouse the ill will and antagonism of their fellowmen; whereas those who are humble and meek stir the admiration of their fellowmen and are advanced by them. all our acts should be inspired, not by the desire for honor or for worldly reward, but by the desire to work righteousness.
a further illustration.
this principle jesus illustrated further by a direct address to the pharisee who had invited him. "when thou makest a dinner or a supper; call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. but when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
peter and the question of recompense.
the question of recompense has disturbed many people; unfortunately, it is still uppermost in the minds of some. it was undoubtedly the question of recompense that troubled peter when he said to jesus, "lo, we have left all, and have followed thee." we may imagine that the rest of his thought ran somewhat like this: what shall be {241} our reward? jesus very promptly answered, "verily i say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of god's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."
"but many that are first shall be last; and the last first."
the reward worth while.
jesus did not discourage entirely, then, the idea of rewards. but he emphasized the necessity of the pure and upright motive, and service for the sake of service. then, those who serve shall receive a reward—not material, perhaps, but spiritual—which shall fill their lives here, and assure life everlasting hereafter. what does it matter, after all, if one lose one's worldly possessions but gain contentment of soul and an assurance of eternal exaltation? there are men who are possessed of untold material wealth who would give all to gain the simple testimony of jesus possessed by the simplest and humblest member in the church of christ. indeed, true contentment—which is the chief reward of a well-spent life—can come only as the result of service unselfishly rendered. neither wealth nor poverty can bring about the worth-while, spiritual reward of an act prompted by a worthy motive. and without question, many that are first, in this world, shall be last in the day of judgment.
conclusion.
this we have, then, to let sink deep into our hearts: jesus would have us guard the motives of our acts; he would have us understand that our acts are but the outward fruits of our inner {242} thoughts; with our motives pure, he would have us perform good deeds without thought of reward; he would have us do good where no recompense can be had; he would have us remain meek and humble in thought, in word, and in deed, innocent of any selfish act. then will he recompense us with a reward, indeed: satisfaction, contentment, spiritual light, the goods of this world as we shall need them, and life everlasting, the greatest gift of god.
"everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,
and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."
the references
luke 14:1, 7-14. luke 18:28-30.
mark 10:31.
the questions
1. what is the difference between the old law and the new in the teaching about acts and motives?
2. show that the teaching of jesus is psychologically correct.
3. illustrate the process of the action growing from the thought by some instance other than that of the cigarette smoker.
4. what was the attitude of jesus toward the doctrine of material rewards?
5. how does the question of motive affect this doctrine?
6. discuss the parable of the wedding feast.
7. why is it well to do good where there can be no hope of recompense?
8. explain the answer of jesus to peter.
9. what is the nature of the reward worth while?
10. how shall we gain the reward worth while?
