On the Ground of Patience

Even when threatened with total annihilation, man has shown over and over again that he has the capacity to build his life anew and is always able to summon up the determination and energy to overcome whatever difficulties stand in his way. How does he come to have these remarkable qualities? The answer is simply that of all the blessings showered upon him by his Creator, one of the very greatest is this hidden potential which manifests itself in times of extreme crisis. The very knowledge that this potential exists in all human beings should serve to imbue us with such optimism that we never waste so much as a moment in fruitless lamentations, but plunge straight into whatever action is essential to the reparation of our losses. This God-given capacity for reconstruction should never be allowed to languish, for it is that very quality which can lead us into a new and brighter phase of existence. On Pride and Arrogance “Evil can have no beginning but from pride nor any end but from humility.” When the English author William Law (1686-1761) wrote these words, he placed them in an ethical context. But they could well be interpreted in a spiritual sense, for the most sinful attitude that man can adopt before God is one of pride. Other sins may be forgivable, but for pride there is no forgiveness. Pride, whether overt or covert, is at the root of many of the wrongs and injustices perpetrated by man. It is pride, which prevents the wrongdoer from acknowledging his guilt: to do so, would detract from his personal status. He forgets that in denying, or ignoring what is true, he places himself above truth. It is folly to do so, for truth rides high, far and above everything and everyone else in this world. There is no mortal creature who can take precedence over it.