The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 168 -
Simon's talk on rebukes out of self-love.
But after half an hour our large society became alive, and Simon started to free his rather witty jokes. Gaby, a more serious young man of about twenty years old, plucked Simon quite often indicating that he should not go too far.
2
But Simon said: "Who plucked once at David when he rather playful danced in front of the ark? His wife, out of shyness, advised him to restrain his joy madness; but David did not take any notice! And see, I also will not care about your correction plucking, but will only become more cheerful! Thus do not pluck me anymore, otherwise I also had to pluck on you!
3
Look, there sits the Lord; He alone is now our corrector! What do we sinners want to correct each other? Since each of us corrects his fellow-man mainly out of his own self-love! The niggard admonishes his fellow-man to restraint, soberness and thrift and has its custom sayings for it. But why does he do it? He is afraid that somebody might become impoverished, whom he as a wealthy person, however not out of neighbourly love, but because of a disgraceful duty, had to support him.
4
Somebody else who cannot walk that fast, will in precise medically terms explain to his companions the harmfulness of walking too fast. Somebody else who is not a great friend of the usefulness of heat, will argue as much as possible the advantages of shade. A wine drinker will not seriously recommend to his friends the drinking of water. A young, or even already an older man who has his eyes on a certain young girl, will always preach to her the dangers being in the company of other men and nicely warn other men about the immorality of the irresponsible company with the female gender. In such a warning there certainly is quite a nice piece of self-love visible?!
5
And therefore until now I always have made the remark, quite frankly, that together with the so often occurring admonitions, always a little self-love appears on the side of the scolder, which no scolder, if he thinks a little about himself, can deny. Anything that touches him in an unpleasant manner, doing it, he will warn his fellow-man the most under all kind of morally looking reasons.
6
If someone is in love with a maiden, he soon in a loving manner will seriously warn her about other men, who also, as it occasionally happens, might have an eye on her. Why does he not warn all the other maiden about the wickedness of men? Because with the other maiden his self-love does not play a roll!
7
From the type of the different warnings and admonitions which people are giving to each other, I can precisely determine the so called sides of people!
8
Not in vain did our God Master on the mountain made the marvellous and very striking remark for the certain unwelcomed admonisher who should not that easily tell his fellow-man: 'Come friend, that I remove the splinter from your eye!' They first should take care whether there is not a whole beam stuck in their own eyes! Only if they went to some trouble to remove it, they would have earned the right to say to his brother, if it would be convenient for him to also remove his little splinter from his eyes!
9
You see, friend Gaby, this is also morality which I of course does not want to force upon you as you want to enforce your admonishments onto me, although I'm quite convinced that there is very little untrue about it!
10
I have spoken and will now attend again to a fish! In the mean time you, my friend Gaby, can give your preacher tongue some work to do! However, spare me the wisdom of Solomon; since for him both of us do not have any hair on our milk-teeth! By the way we both are lucky to be still alive; but Salomon, let him be a good man! And his High Song should sing whoever wants to sing it; hopefully our voices will never reach that height on this dear mother earth!"
11
Gaby, however, looks a little sad about the stinging remarks about Salomon, but, nevertheless, keeps quiet out of pure reverence for Me.