And it came to pass that he spake another parable on this wise, saying,

Once upon a time there was an emperor, who much desired to have a deep spiritual life, for verily he was a good ruler.  And he sought far and wide for those who might teach him the way in which he might walk that he might have a spiritual life. And verily, he offered a reward to those who could come forward and teach him the truths he must know to live this deep life. And many came with multitudes of teachings, and studies and meditations and seminars, and behold, the king tried them all and found them wanting, for while they all had grains of truth within them, each one failed to bring him the life he desired to have. So the king sent them away, unrewarded and unpunished, for each of them was trying his best, yet measured not up.

 Now behold, there came into his empire two scoundrels, who said within themselves,

Here is a king who desireth to give great rewards to those who can teach him the secret to a deep spiritual life, now it is true that being charlatans and crooks, we know nothing of spirituality, but we can surely come up with a plan that will convince him that we have what he wants.

And the two scoundrels got them expensive suits, and they printed to themselves business cards with titles such as Reverend and Doctor and Master of Divinity, which titles looked impressive, and they came unto the emperor, and said unto him, “O great sovereign, thou wise king, we have come from afar, desiring to help thee in thy plight, for we know that thou desirest a spiritual life and behold, we have come from afar to teach you the secrets you desire to know.”

And the two scoundrels began to wax eloquent and to tell the king of their wisdom and scholarship, and of all that they had studied, and their words sounded pleasing to the king for he thought that he had found the teaching he had desired for so long.

So he called them into his secret council chambers, and they whispered to him their secrets, saying,

O King, for many years, you have tried to have a spiritual life which would show on the outside so that those around you could see that you were serving the Lord. But you have been making a big mistake.   You can’t look at how somebody lives and determine if they have a spiritual life or not. You see, the truth of the matter is that spiritual life is something that is in the heart.  And only you know if you have it in your heart. 

And it takes someone with spiritual discernment to see it.

Look at us.  I am divorced and remarried, and he’s sometimes a little shady in his business dealings, but that doesn’t mean anything.  Your spiritual life has nothing to do with how you live. And anyone with any spiritual discernment at all knows that we have a spiritual life.  But even if no one else can see it, we know we have it, and no one can say we don’t. That’s judging.

And you, O King, have the same privilege.  Keep living how you want to, and tell those around you that you have a deep spiritual life, and if they are spiritual themselves, they will see it. But even if they don’t, you will know you have it.

And the Emperor’s eyes shone as he realized the truth.  And he said to the men, Come with me to receive your reward for this teaching.

And the Emperor marched them to the dungeon and chopped off their heads, because he knew that there is a big difference between honest mistakes and deliberate heresy. 

And he realized that just because someone’s teaching sounds impressive and just because they have some type of degree doesn’t make it sound doctrine.

And he realized that even if he didn’t have all have all the facts straight, he did know one thing.  If those around you can’t tell that you are a Christian, your profession means nothing.  And just because you pretend to have something inside, doesn’t mean its real.

Because, to borrow from a writer much wiser than myself, faith without works is dead.

Regards,

HBB