Metaphysical meaning of rich young man (mbd)
rich young man (Mark 10:17-27).
Meta. Personality; the state of consciousness in man that lays hold of the world of form, seeking satisfaction in personal possessions and in fulfilling the letter of the law.
The real goal to be attained in dealing with the manifest world is spiritual understanding, to become conscious of the fact that the reality of anything is the idea underlying it. This goal is attained through the quickening of Spirit, by which man delves beyond intellectual knowledge into an understanding of his spiritual nature and his true relation to the world of manifestation.
Man's true relation to the manifest world may be explained as follows: Thought is the formative power of the mind. Through thought man has consciously or unconsciously laid hold of certain principles and brought into manifestation the world with its limitations. When man spiritualizes his thought he lifts himself and the race into a consciousness of reality and perfectness, which is vastly more important than moral law or external riches.
True prosperity is the being rich in spiritual ideas, out of which comes great abundance in the without, based on an understanding of God and His righteousness; then "all these things shall be added unto you." Spiritual man sees the "things . . . added" in their relation to the ideas that created them and as the expression of God substance. In this way he keeps his mind stayed on divine ideas and becomes a creator of every good thing necessary to the fulfillment of a perfect Christ life.
The promise to those who forsake all and follow the Christ is that those who live by the Christ principle, recognizing God as the source of supply and giving freely of all that they receive, "shall receive a hundredfold" and shall "inherit eternal life."
Personality (the rich young man) is that in us which lays store by the things of form and shape. Selfishness attaches personality to the things of sense, while unselfishness liberates it.
Personality is selfish for eternal life, and strives to attain it; but personality does not know the real good; it is disappointed because it cannot retain its belief in earthly possessions and at the same time have consciousness of spiritual things.
When personality attaches itself to material riches it really believes in another power than God. It trusts the resources of the visible instead of the invisible, and thus weakens its spiritual faculties. All the powers of the mind must be developed spiritward before man can rise to the higher consciousness called heaven. If we trust in riches, our trust in God is weakened; yet we are promised that we shall have all things when we have fulfilled the law of righteousness.
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Preceding Entry: rich man
Following Entry: Rimmon
