HYPOCRISY--wealth

 

Hypocrisy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Not to be confused with Hippocrates.

Not to be confused with Hypocracy a.k.a. Hypocrinia.

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have.^[1] Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.^[1]

Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14:

Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory, as a man may be confident of the advantages of a voyage, or a journey, without having courage or industry to undertake it, and may honestly recommend to others, those attempts which he neglects himself.^[2]

Thus, an alcoholic's advocating temperance, for example, would not be considered an act of hypocrisy as long as the alcoholic made no pretense of constant sobriety.

Contents [hide] ·         1 Etymology ·         2 Hypocrisy and vice ·         3 Jung on the General Hypocrisy of Man ·         4 See also ·         5 Notes ·         6 References

[edit] Etymology

The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means "Jealous" "play-acting", "acting out", "coward" or "dissembling".^[3] The word hypocrite is from the Greek word ὑποκρίτης (hypokrites), the agentive noun associated with υποκρίνομαι (hypokrinomai κρίση, "judgment" »κριτική (kritiki), "critics") presumably because the performance of a dramatic text by an actor was to involve a degree of interpretation, or assessment.

Alternatively, the word is an amalgam of the Greek prefix hypo-, meaning "under", and the verb krinein, meaning "to sift or decide". Thus the original meaning implied a deficiency in the ability to sift or decide. This deficiency, as it pertains to one's own beliefs and feelings, informs the word's contemporary meaning.^[4]

Whereas hypokrisis applied to any sort of public performance (including the art of rhetoric), hypokrites was a technical term for a stage actor and was not considered an appropriate role for a public figure. In Athens in the 4th century BC, for example, the great orator Demosthenes ridiculed his rival Aeschines, who had been a successful actor before taking up politics, as a hypokrites whose skill at impersonating characters on stage made him an untrustworthy politician. This negative view of the hypokrites, perhaps combined with the Roman disdain for actors, later shaded into the originally neutral hypokrisis. It is this later sense of hypokrisis as "play-acting", i.e., the assumption of a counterfeit persona, that gives the modern word hypocrisy its negative connotation.

The word hypocrasy is often confused with hypcracy, also known as hypocrinia, is an abnormal condition caused by insufficient secretion from a gland, especially an endocrine gland.

[edit] Hypocrisy and vice

Although hypocrisy has been called "the tribute that vice pays to virtue",^[5] and a bit of it certainly greases the wheels of social exchange, it may also corrode the well-being of those people who continually make or are forced to make use of it.^[6] As Boris Pasternak has Yurii say in Doctor Zhivago, "Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike... Our nervous system isn't just fiction, it's part of our physical body, and it can't be forever violated with impunity."

The over-attribution of hypocrisy, however, could lead to excessive tolerance of deceit and destructive behavior.

[edit] Jung on the General Hypocrisy of Man

C. G. Jung a few times referred to the hypocrisy of people who are not aware of the dark or shadow-side of their nature.

Every individual needs revolution, inner division, overthrow of the existing order, and renewal, but not by forcing them upon his neighbors under the hypocritical cloak of Christian love or the sense of social responsibility or any of the other beautiful euphemisms for unconscious urges to personal power (Jung, 1966:5).

It is under all circumstances an advantage to be in full possession of one's personality, otherwise the repressed elements will only crop up as a hindrance elsewhere, not just at some unimportant point, but at the very spot where we are most sensitive. If people can be educated to see the shadow-side of their nature clearly, it may be hoped that they will also learn to understand and love their fellow men better. A little less hypocrisy and a little more self-knowledge can only have good results in respect for our neighbor; for we are all too prone to transfer to our fellows the injustice and violence we inflict upon our own natures (Jung, 1966:par. 28).

In New Paths in Psychology (1916) Jung pointedly referred to the "hypocritical pretenses of man".

Dream-analysis above all else mercilessly uncovers the lying morality and hypocritical pretences of man, showing him, for once, the other side of his character in the most vivid light (Jung, 1966:par. 437).

Your continued donations keep Wikiquote running!

Hypocrisy

From Wikiquote

Jump to: navigation, search

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of deception.

Contents

[edit] Sourced

• *** And the veil
  Spun from the cobweb fashion of the times,
  To hide the feeling heart?
• Mark Akenside, Pleasures of Imagination (published 1744), Book II, line 147.

• Saint abroad, and a devil at home.
• John Bunyan, Pilgrims Progress (1678), Part I.

• When a man puts on a Character he is a stranger to, there's as much difference between what he appears, and what he is really in himself, as there is between a Vizor and a Face.
• Jean de La Bruyère, The Characters or Manners of the Present Age (1688), Of Men, Chapter XI.

• Oh, for a forty-parson power to chant
  Thy praise, Hypocrisy! Oh, for a hymn
  Loud as the virtues thou dost loudly vaunt,
  Not practise!
• Lord Byron, Don Juan (1818-24), Canto X, Stanza 34.

• Be hypocritical, be cautious, be
  Not what you seem but always what you see.
• Lord Byron, Don Juan (1818-24), Canto XI, Stanza 86.

• And prate and preach about what others prove,
  As if the world and they were hand and glove.
• William Cowper, Table Talk (1782), line 173.

• A hypocrite is in himself both the archer and the mark, in all actions shooting at his own praise or profit.
• Thomas Fuller, The Holy State and the Prophane State (1642), The Hypocrite. Maxim 1, Book V, Chapter VIII.

• L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu.
• Hypocrisy is the homage which vice renders to virtue.
• François de La Rochefoucauld, Maximes (1665–1678), 218.

• For neither man nor angel can discern
  Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks
  Invisible, except to God alone,
  By his permissive will, through heav'n and earth.
• John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), Book III, line 682.

• He was a man
  Who stole the livery of the court of Heaven
  To serve the Devil in.
• Robert Pollok, The Course of Time (1827), Book VIII, line 616.

• Constant at Church and 'Change; his gains were sure;
  His givings rare, save farthings to the poor.
• Alexander Pope, Moral Essays (1731-35), Epistle III, line 347.

• Thou hast prevaricated with thy friend,
  By underhand contrivances undone me:
  And while my open nature trusted in thee,
  Thou hast slept in between me and my hopes,
  And ravish'd from me all my soul held dear.
  Thou hast betray'd me.
• Nicholas Rowe, Lady Jane Grey (1715), Act II, scene 1, line 235.

• 'Tis too much proved—that with devotion's visage
  And pious action we do sugar o'er
  The devil himself.
• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act III, scene 1, line 47.

• I will speak daggers to her, but use none;
  My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites.
• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act III, scene 2, line 414.

• Away, and mock the time with fairest show;
  False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
• William Shakespeare, Macbeth (1605), Act I, scene 7, line 81.

• O, what may man within him hide,
  Though angel on the outward side!
• William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (1603), Act III, scene 2, line 285.

• So smooth he daub'd his vice with show of virtue,
  * * * * * *
  He liv'd from all attainder of suspect.
• William Shakespeare, Richard III (c. 1591), Act III, scene 5, line 29.

• O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!
  Did ever a dragon keep so fair a cave?
• William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1597), Act III, scene 2, line 73.

• How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! how horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite.
• Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique portatif ("A Philosophical Dictionary") (1764), Philosopher, Section I.

• I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.
• Oscar Wilde, Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Act II.

• A man I knew who lived upon a smile,
  And well it fed him; he look'd plump and fair,
  While rankest venom foam'd through every vein.
• Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1742-1745), Night VIII, line 336.

[edit] Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations

Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 383-84.

• Thus 'tis with all; their chief and constant care
  Is to seem everything but what they are.
• Oliver Goldsmith, Epilogue to The Sisters, line 25.

• Some hypocrites and seeming mortified men, that held down their heads, were like the little images that they place in the very bowing of the vaults of churches, that look as if they held up the church, but are but puppets.
• Attributed to Dr. Laud by Bacon, Apothegms, No. 273.

• Not he who scorns the Saviour's yoke
  Should wear his cross upon the heart.
• Friedrich Schiller, The Fight with the Dragon, Stanza 24.

[edit] Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895)

Quotes reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895).

• Woe unto thee if after all thy profession thou shouldst be found under the power of ignorance, lost in formality, drowned in earthly-mindedness, envenomed with malice, exalted in an opinion of thine own righteousness, leavened with hypocrisy and carnal ends in God's service.
• Joseph Alleine, p. 336.

• No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, p. 336.

• Hypocrites do the devil's drudgery in Christ's livery.
• Matthew Henry, p. 336.

• Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy; affectation, part of the chosen trappings of folly! the one completes a villain, the other only finishes a fop. Contempt is the proper punishment of affectation, and detestation the just consequence of hypocrisy.
• Samuel Johnson, p. 335.

• When you see a man with a great deal of religion displayed in his shop window, you may depend upon it he keeps a very small stock of it within.

• In sermon style he bought,
  And sold, and lied; and salutations made
  In Scripture terms. He prayed by quantity,
  And with his repetitions long and loud,
  All knees were weary.
• Robert Pollok, p. 335.

• If you think that you can sin, and then by cries avert the consequences of sin, you insult God's character.
• Frederick William Robertson, p. 336.

• Hypocrisy is a sort of homage that vice pays to virtue.
• François de La Rochefoucauld, p. 336.

• Men turn their faces to hell, and hope to get to heaven; why don't they walk into the horsepond, and hope to be dry?Charles Spurgeon

 Quote

"I have no faith in our hypocritical, false, hysterical, uneducated and lazy intelligentsia when they suffer and complain: their oppression comes from within. I believe in individual people. I see salvation in discrete individuals, intellectuals and peasants, strewn hither and yon throughout . They have the strength, although there are few of them."

-Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Holman Bible Dictionary  - Works                                                                                                                                        Deeds leading to planned results, both by God and people. God's works are His acts and deeds in creating, saving, and sustaining (Judges 2:7; Psalm 8:6; Psalm 103:22; Psalm 104:24; Isaiah 64:8; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 1:6). Jesus Christ came to do the work of God (John 4:34; John 5:17; John 9:4.) The miraculous works of Christ testify to His divine nature and mission (John 5:36; John 6:28-29; John 10:37-38). Christ calls and enables His followers to continue His works (John 14:12; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Corinthians 16:10).                                                                      The works of people testify to their faith or lack of it. Those who do the works of the devil show that they are of the devil (John 8:34-44; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Sinners are called to cast off the works of darkness (Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:11), sometimes called wicked works (Colossians 1:21) or the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19). Because sinners cannot save themselves, they must rely on the grace of God, not on their own works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). Paul warned against relying on the works of the law as a basis for acceptance by God (Romans 9:32; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:2,Galatians 3:5,Galatians 3:10). Sinners are accepted as righteous before God on the basis of God's grace through faith in Christ, not on the basis of their own works (Romans 3:27; Romans 4:2-6). One evidence of saving faith, however, is the existence of good works in the lives of believers (Matthew 5:16; Acts 9:36; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:17; 1 Timothy 2:10; 1 Timothy 5:10,1 Timothy 5:25; Titus 2:7,Titus 2:14; Hebrews 10:24  Some people think that Paul and James contradict each other in their teachings about works. James 2:14-26 James says that people are justified by faith and works, not by faith alone. However, closer examination shows that James used the word “works” to refer to what Paul meant by “good works.” James and Paul were dealing with people who wanted to rely on works of the law for their salvation. James was dealing with people who professed to believe but whose lives did not show it. Paul, therefore, emphasized that sinners cannot make themselves acceptable to God by keeping the works of the law. Dealing with a different situation, James emphasized that true faith shows itself in good works, a point that Paul also made.                                                                                                                                                                   Easton's Bible Dictionary -  The old objection against the doctrine of salvation by grace, that it does away with the necessity of good works, and lowers the sense of their importance (Romans 6), although it has been answered a thousand times, is still alleged by many. They say if men are not saved by works, then works are not necessary. If the most moral of men are saved in the same way as the very chief of sinners, then good works are of no moment. And more than this, if the grace of God is most clearly displayed in the salvation of the vilest of men, then the worse men are the better.                                                                                                                                                                                The objection has no validity. The gospel of salvation by grace shows that good works are necessary. It is true, unchangeably true, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. "Neither adulterers, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards" shall inherit the kingdom of God. Works are "good" only when, (1) they spring from the principle of love to God. The moral character of an act is determined by the moral principle that prompts it. Faith and love in the heart are the essential elements of all true obedience. Hence good works only spring from a believing heart, can only be wrought by one reconciled to God (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:18:22).). ·  Good works have the glory of God as their object; and (3) they have the revealed will of God as their only rule (Deuteronomy 12:32; Revelation 22:18,19).   Good works are an expression of gratitude in the believer's heart (John 14:15,23; Galatians 5:6). They are the fruits of the Spirit (Titus 2:10-12), and thus spring from grace, which they illustrate and strengthen in the heart. Good works of the most sincere believers are all imperfect, yet like their persons they are accepted through the mediation of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17), and so are rewarded; they have no merit intrinsically, but are rewarded wholly of grace.                                                             

            HOLMAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE DICTIONARY,  WORKS                                                                                                                             Refers to acts, deeds, or accomplishments. Often indicates physical or mental activity to accomplish a task. Work was a duty given to Adam and was originally a fulfilling activity (Gen. 2:15) Work became a curse as a result of the fall (3:17-19) yet man was to continue to work (Exod. 20:9) Fulfillment and virtue are still found in labor.  Works, is used also to describe deeds of God. In the OT forms of the Hebrew word (pa`al, po`al) describe the works of God in creation (Exod. 15:17; Prov.16:4) providence (Deut.32:4; Isa.51:2; Job36:24) and judgment (Hab.1:5) In the NT forms of the Greek term (ergon) are commonplace. Ergon is frequently used to describe the “works” of JESUS CHRIST. Used in all the Gospels, it is employed most frequently by John (5:36; 7:3,21;   10:25,32-33,38;   14:11-12;  15:24)  This word is used also to describe the deeds of man (John 6:27; Rom. 4:4-5) The Gospels asserted that believers demonstrate by good works that God is active in their lives Matt. 5:16; John 6:28-29; 14:12) Much debate exists concerning the relationship of faith and works in the salvation process. Paul stated that justification comes from faith alone apart from works (Rom. 4:2-3,9-10; Gal. 3:9-11; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 3:7-9) James, however, seems to affirm a closer relationship (James 2:14-24) This apparent contradiction has troubled many, especially, luther, who called James, an epistle of straw , and declared its message to be, flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of scripture in ascribing justification to works.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              There is a credible solution to the apparent contradiction. Paul, often dealing with Jewish legalists, used the term to describe (works of the law) which legalists believed would earn salvation. Paul rejects these works as insufficient. However, he freely acknowledged the inevitability of good works by those genuinely converted by faith (Eph. 2:10) Conversely, James argument is that any “faith” that cannot be seen by the evidence of “works” is not true saving faith (2:14) The definite article in the text (ha pistis) indicates James is not speaking of genuine saving faith, but rather of a particular fictitious faith, proven to be such by lack of good deeds. Paul and James are speaking from two sides of the same coin. Works of the law are insufficient to earn one’s salvation, while good works are a natural consequence of saving faith. As Calvin put it; Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone!”     SEE ALSO,  OBEDIENCE .   

    Luther was ,,   a little HEAVY,,,, on the letter of James, also. Its not good to be quick to pat people on the back. And never be in a hurry to reach your destination until your sure of the path your on.  A little through studying may call for what some people call effort or work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Holman Bible Dictionary -  Repentance

Old Testament In ancient Israel repentance was first expressed corporately. When national calamities such as famine, drought, defeat, or a plague of locusts arose, the people did not feel responsible individually for these catastrophes. Rather, they sensed that the incidents were caused by the guilt of the nation. All shared the responsibility and, consequently, the ritual of repentance. Fasting, the wearing of sackcloth (the traditional attire for mourning), the scattering of ashes (Isaiah 58:5; Nehemiah 9:1; Daniel 9:3), and the recitation of prayers and psalms in a penitential liturgy characterized this collective experience of worship  With the use of such outward tokens of repentance, however, the danger of sham or pretense also arose. Ritual not accompanied by a genuine attitude of repentance was empty. Against such misleading and, therefore, futile expressions of remorse, the eighth-century prophets spoke out. Their attacks upon feigned worship and their calls for genuine contrition on the part of the individual gave flower to the characteristic biblical concept of repentance. What was needed was not ritual alone, but the active involvement of the individual in making a radical change within the heart (Ezekiel 18:31) and in seeking a new direction for one's life. What was demanded was a turning from sin and at the same time a turning to God. For the prophets, such a turning or conversion was not just simply a change within a person; it was openly manifested in justice, kindness, and humility (Micah 6:8; Amos 5:24; Hosea 2:19-20).                                                                                                                                                                             New Testament A direct connection between the prophets and the New Testament is found in John the Baptist. Appearing in the wilderness, he, like they, issued the call to his own generation for this radical kind of turning. He baptized those who by confessing their sins responded to his invitation (Mark 1:4-5). Likewise, he expected that those who had made this commitment would demonstrate by their actions the change which they had made in their hearts (Luke 3:10-14). He differed, though, from the prophets in that his message of repentance was intricately bound up with his expectation of the imminent coming of the Messiah (Luke 3:15-17; see also Acts 19:4).

The Messiah came also preaching a message of repentance (Mark 1:15). Stressing that all men needed to repent (Luke 13:1-5), Jesus summoned his followers to turn and become like children (Matthew 18:3). He defined His ministry in terms of calling sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Moreover, He illustrated His understanding of repentance in the parable of the prodigal who returned to the father (Luke 15:11-32). Like John, he insisted that the life that was changed was obvious by the “fruit” that it bore (Luke 6:20-45).

Jesus also differed from His predecessors in His proclamation of repentance. He related it closely to the arrival of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15) and specifically associated it with one's acceptance of Him. Those who were unrepentant were those who rejected Him (Luke 10:8-15; Luke 11:30-32); those who received Him were the truly repentant. In His name repentance and forgiveness were to be proclaimed to all nations (Luke 24:47).

Acts shows this proclamation was made. Peter (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31) and Paul (Acts 17:30; Acts 20:21) told Jews and Gentiles alike “that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20 NAS). The apostolic preaching virtually identified repentance with belief in Christ: both resulted in the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 10:43).

“Repentance” is infrequently found in Paul's writings and never in John. Both speak of faith which entails both a rejection of sin and a positive response to God. Other apostolic writings also note the relationship of faith and repentance (Acts 20:21; Hebrews 6:1). In 1 John, moreover, confession of sins is tantamount to repentance from sins (Hebrews 1:9).

Other Usages Not all references refer to turning to God from sin. Judas repented of what he had done (Matthew 27:3). The Greek term differs from the normal word for repentance. In this context the meaning is regret or remorse; Judas' repentance was not the type that leads towards salvation.

Paul described an earlier letter he had sent to the Corinthians which caused them grief, but which eventually led them to repentance. Here Paul described a change in the Corinthians' attitude about him (2 Corinthians 7:8-13). Their repentance resulted in their reconciliation with him.

Renewal of commitment or reaffirmation of faith seems to be the meaning of repentance in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation (Revelation 2:5,Revelation 2:16,Revelation 2:21-22; Revelation 3:3,Revelation 3:19). Twice the letters call for the readers to remember and thereby to return to what they had been. The call is for rededication and not initial conversion. See , Confession; Conversion; Faith; Kingdom of God; Sackcloth.

Naymond Keathley

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Obedience To obey or not to obey the Lord God—this has been and is the crucial question for every human being. Obedience as opposed to disobedience is a life-and-death issue. God has given humankind the innate power of choice: the choice of obedience leads to God's promised blessing of life; the choice of disobedience leads to curse, judgment, and death. God's clear instructions to the very first human beings in the garden of Eden was to refrain from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16). He expected their obedience. They disobeyed, thereby losing initial favor with God. Nonetheless, they were restored to favor when God granted them the privileged role of being the first parents of all subsequent generations of humankind. The obedience of Abraham is perhaps most exemplary in the Old Testament. On two occasions, he demonstrated total submission to God's will. First, he obeyed God's command to go to a new land (Gen 12). This response meant leaving Ur of the Chaldees, a highly developed city, to go to the unknown, unfamiliar land that God would show to him—the land of Canaan. Abraham's obedience results in his being elected a chosen one for a special role in God's salvation-plan for humankind. Second, he obeyed God's command to offer his son as a sacrifice (Gen 22:1-19). Obedience was a main concern during the time of the encampment of the people of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai, to which God directed Moses to lead them after their deliverance from the Egyptians. There God, with Moses as mediator, provided the people with general and specific stipulations for conforming to his will. At Mount Sinai God established a special covenant relationship between himself and the people of Israel. He also gave them the Decalogue or "Ten Words" (Exod 20:1-17), which constituted a list of basic moral and religious guidelines for those who were in this special relationship with God. The call to be obedient underlies two or more key verses of the Pentateuch. One is Leviticus 19:2: "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." Obedience should emanate from a commitment to live a holy life before God and others in the covenant community. A second key passage is Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This is a divine call, urging a total love for God that results in unhesitating obedience to his will. Unfortunately, obedience on the part of Israel was preempted by disobedience as the predominant characteristic of the nation's history. Only a small segment of God's chosen people chose to follow his word. During most of the two-kingdom times, gross apostasy and disobedience were widespread. During the course of Israel's history, Deuteronomic theology (see Deut 28:15-68)—if obedient, blessing; if disobedient, then curse/judgment—remained operative. The massive turning away from God and the refusal to heed the prophets' warnings left God no alternative but to exercise his judgment and to destroy both kingdoms. The prophets called for a new covenant, which would resolve the problem of failure to remain obedient to God. Jeremiah, after denouncing the unfaithfulness of God's people, made the pronouncement of this covenant (31:31-34). This covenant would be placed in the people's minds and in the people's hearts. Jeremiah provides details of how in "new covenant" times obedience will have first and only place. The law of God in hearts and minds will preclude any sinful Acts against God and fellow humankind. The reality of this new covenant was portrayed in Jesus' supreme example of obedience to the heavenly Father, when he gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice for atonement of sin. Jesus' emphasis on being born again underscores the need of atonement for effecting forgiveness of sins. Jesus talks to Nicodemus about being born again or "from above" as the requirement for entering the kingdom of God (John 3:3-6). The way of death would be thus changed to the way of life. Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified, be made inwardly holy, and thereby be enabled to live a holy life outwardly (John 17:6-19). Provision for this inner holiness and cleansing— requisite for true obedience—was effected by his atoning sacrifice on the cross. The Holy Spirit is provided to all who believe in Jesus. The Spirit's abiding presence enables all God's people to carry out God's will and to live obediently before him.     Harvey E. Finley

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Old Testament Conception:     The highest significance of its usage, however, is that of the relation of man to God. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God and reverence for Him. The Old Testament conception of obedience was vital. It was the one important relationship which must not be broken. While sometimes this relation may have been formal and cold, it nevertheless was the one strong tie which held the people close to God. The significant spiritual relation is expressed by Samuel when he asks the question, "Hath Yahweh as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). It was the condition without which no right relation might be sustained to Yahweh. This is most clearly stated in the relation between Abraham and Yahweh when he is assured "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice" (Genesis 22:18).

In prophetic utterances, future blessing and prosperity were conditioned upon obedience: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19). After surveying the glories of the Messianic kingdom, the prophet assures the people that "this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God" (Zechariah 6:15). On the other hand misfortune, calamity, distress and famine are due to their disobedience and distrust of Yahweh.                                                                                                                                This obedience or disobedience was usually related to the specific commands of Yahweh as contained in the law, yet they conceived of God as giving commands by other means. Note especially the rebuke of Samuel to Saul: "Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Yahweh, .... therefore hath Yahweh done this thing unto thee this day" (1 Samuel 28:18).

3. The New Testament Conception:

In the New Testament a higher spiritual and moral relation is sustained than in the Old Testament. The importance of obedience is just as greatly emphasized. Christ Himself is its one great illustration of obedience. He "humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). By obedience to Him we are through Him made partakers of His salvation (Hebrews 5:9). This act is a supreme test of faith in Christ. Indeed, it is so vitally related that they are in some cases almost synonymous. "Obedience of faith" is a combination used by Paul to express this idea (Romans 1:5). Peter designates believers in Christ as "children of obedience" (1 Peter 1:14). Thus it is seen that the test of fellowship with Yahweh in the Old Testament is obedience. The bond of union with Christ in the New Testament is obedience through faith, by which they become identified and the believer becomes a disciple. Walter G. Clippinger

                   WEALTH - this word is used in Scripture occasionally  in  the Elizabethan and primary sense of ' well being ' (e.g. 1 S 2²³ , Est 10³ ect.). but generally in the more usual sense of affluent possessions ( e.g. Gn 34²⁹ , Dt 8^{17.  18} , Ac 19²⁵ ect.).

1. Palestine is described in Dt 8^7-9 as rich not only in cereal but also in mineral wealth; but this may be a description more poetic than literal.  It is , however , frequently spoken of as ; flowing with milk and honey ' (ex 3⁸, ect.  ect. ) -products which were in ancient times considered the marks of fertile lands. The wealth of Israel increased as the country developed; and under the monarchy it reached its height. The increased prosperity did not, however , lead to increased righteousness. If in the times of ISAIAH the land was full of silver and gold, ' it was full of idols ' ( is 2^{7. 8} ): the ruling classes oppressed the poor (5⁹ , Mic 2²) , drunkenness ( Is 5¹¹ , Mic 2¹¹) and audacity of sin ( Is 5¹⁸) were rampant. The national poverty that followed upon the Exile had been removed before the birth of our Lord , as exemplified by the magnificent buildings of Herod. Throughout the OT and NT many instances of wealthy individuals occur: e.g. Abram (Gn 13² ) Nabal (1 S 25²), Barzillai (2 S 19³²), Zacchaeus ( Lk 19²), Joseph of Arimathaea (Mt 27⁵⁷) .

2. In the OT the possession of wealth is generally regaurded as evidence of God's blessing, and so of righteousness (Ps 1^{3.  4} ect.). but the stubborn facts of the godly being called upon sometimes  to suffer, and of the wicked  sometimes flourishing, led to a deeper view; and the limited power and transitoriness of wealth were realized (Ps 49; cf. 37. 73. Job 21 , Jer 12 ect.). In the NT the problem does not present itself so keenly; as , in the full belief of a future life, the difficulty resolved itself. But the general conduciveness of virtue to earthly prosperity is inculcated; and we are taught that godlines is profitable for this life as well as for that which is to come ( 1 Tl 4⁸; cf. Mt 6³³, Mk 10³⁰)

3. Our Lord's position regarding wealth must be deduced from His practice and teaching. as regards His practice , it is clear that , until He commenced His ministry , he obtained His livelihood by labour , toiling as a carpenter in Nazareth (Mk 6³). During His ministry , He and the Twelve formed a family with a common purse. This store, composed, no doubt, of the personal property of those of their number who originally had wealth, was replenished by gifts of attached disciples (Lk 8³). From it necessary food was purchased and the poor were relieved (Jn 4⁸ 13²⁹). Christ and His Apostles as a band, therefore, owned private property. When our Lord dispatched the Twelve on a special tour for preaching and healing, and when He sent the Seventy on a similar errand, He commanded them to take with them neither money nor food (Mt 10¹⁰, Lk 10⁴) ; but these were special instructions on special occasions, and doubtless on their return to Him the former system of a common purse was reverted to (cf. Lk 22³⁶).

As regards Christ's teaching , it is important to balance those sayings which appear to be hostile to any possession of wealth , with those which point in the other direction. On the one hand, we find Him bidding a rich young man sell his all and give to the poor (Mk 10 ²¹) , and then telling His disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. He pictures a possessor of increasing wealth Hearing God say , ' Thou foolish one , this night is thy soul required of thee ' (Lk 12²⁰) ; He follows beyond the grave the histories of a rich man and a beggar, placing the rich man in a ' place or torment ' and the poor man in Abraham's bosom (Lk 16^{19f .} ). But there is the other side; for we find that He sympathized deeply with those enduring poverty , assuring them of their Father's care (Mt 11⁵) , and pronouncing upon them in their sorrows a special benediction (Lk 6²⁰). He showed that He desired that all should have a sufficiency , by bidding all , rich and poor alike , pray for ' daily bread. ' If he taught the riches were indeed in obstacle to entrance into the kingdom of God , he also taught that it was the 'few'  ( whether rich or poor ) that succeeded in entering it (Mt 7¹⁴ ) If he told one young man to sell all that he had, clearly He did not intend this counsel to be applicable  to all,  for He assured of ' salvation '  Zacchaeus, who gave but the half of his goods to the poor ( Lk 19^{8. 9} ). If the builder of large barns is termed the ' foolish one , ' his folly is shown not to have been mere acquisition of wealth , but that acquisition apart from riches ' toward God ' (Lk 12²¹ ); and if Dives is in Hades, it is evident that he is not there merely because of his riches , for Lazarus lies in the bosom of Abraham , A rich  Hebrew. Further , in the parables of the pound and the Talents (Lk 19¹²,  Mt 25¹⁴) He teaches , under the symbolism of money, that men are not owners but stewards of all they posses; while in the parable of the Unjust Steward He points out one of the true uses of wealth - namely , to relieve the poor , and so to insure a welcome from them when the eternal tabernacles are entered (Lk 16⁹ ).

From the foregoing we may conclude that , while our Lord realized that poverty brought sorrow , He also realized that wealth contained an intense peril to spiritual life. He came to raise the world from the material to the spiritual ; and wealth , as the very token of the material and temporal , was blinding men to the spiritual and eternal. He therefore urged those to whom it was a special hindrance , to resign it altogether ; and charged all to regard it as something for the use of which they would be held accountable.

 

© Mois Navon www.2 DivreiNavon.com

Mibartenura to indicate extreme humility, whereas an “arrogant spirit” bespeaks one who is haughty and full of empty self-pride. Indeed, it is such a person who pursues honorfor himself, ever occupied in his own self-aggrandizement. Such an outlook              begets disdain for others, noted in the Mishna as “hatred”.

Tellingly, Rashi explains the term “hatred for others” as “gratuitous hatred”. This brings

us back to our original questions regarding gratuitous hatred. Surely no sane person

hates for no reason. Rather, when one is motivated by an arrogant spirit, seeking honor

for himself, he brings himself to a state whereby his actions are like those of a person

who hates everyone, whether he has reason to or not.

R. S. R. Hirsch (on Avot 4:21) helps us appreciate the interrelatedness of the three

paradigmatic traits by noting a common denominator between them: “The vices listed

here … make selfish interest the sole purpose of him whom they dominate and so they

cause him to clash with the rest of the world,for under such circumstances the world has

value to him only as long as it will cater to his desires.”

We can thus explain the relationship of the three traits as follows. Within every person

lie desires, drives, or in the terminology of the Mishna, an evil inclination. This

inclination (yetzer) is raw power and is only labeled as “evil” due to its propensity to be

abused for evil pursuits (Tanhuma, Ber. 7). To satisfy his desires, man uses his physical

senses, depicted in the Mishna as the “eye”. Thus, if man seeks to tilt his inclination

toward negative pursuits, his eye becomes an accessory to that evil, roving jealously to

acquire all that he sees. What distinguishes man’s use of his “inclination” and his “eye”

toward the good or the evil is, in a word, motivation. If one’s motivation is rooted in

selfishness then he will use his “eye” to satisfy his “inclination” at the expense of

everyone around him – he will in this sense act like one who “hates everyone” – for no

reason.

Gratuitous hatred, then, is simply the natural and inevitable consequence of selfish

interest. This explains why gratuitous hatred is equated with the three cardinal sins and

impugned with destroying the Temple. The fabric of society is woven of the interactions

of every member of society. At the moment that the members of society seek only their

own well being, the fabric is torn asunder, leaving a pile of fragile, even insignificant,

threads. A society in which its members think only of themselves will destroy itself just

as surely as if they murder each other.

The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael, ch. 4) explains that the second Temple was a reflection of

society’s cohesive strength. The breakdown of society signaled the breakdown of the

Temple. This is why the Temple was destroyed, and this, according to Rav Kook, is

precisely why the Temple will be rebuilt. Rav Kook teaches that “just as the Temple was

destroyed over gratuitous hatred, so it will be rebuilt when man learns to love his fellow

with gratuitous love.”

And just as “gratuitous hatred” does not mean hate for no reason, but rather exhibiting

hatred born of selfishness, so too “gratuitous love” does not mean loving for no reason,

but rather exhibiting love born of selflessness. During these nine days wherein we

mourn the destruction of the Temple and the tragedies left in its wake, let us focus on

this most fundamental of lessons and seek selflessness in place of selfishness, humility in

place of haughtiness, joy in place of jealousy. May we thus merit Rav Kook’s promise

wherein we see the rebuilding of our society with the Temple radiating its perfection.