Our Teaching — Page 15
15 grieved over the world. Does he who owns a treasure weep, cry and become sorrowful unto death over the loss of a single coin? Had you been aware of this treasure and knew that at every time of need God is able to fulfil your requirements, why would you look to the world so restlessly? God is a precious treasure; appre- ciate Him accordingly, for He is your Helper at every step. You are nothing without Him, nor do your resources and your schemes amount to anything. Do not follow other people for they have become wholly reliant on material means. Just as a snake devours dirt, they con- sume the filth of inferior worldly means. They gorge themselves on carrion in the manner of vultures and dogs. They have become estranged from God. They have worshipped men, devoured the flesh of swine and consumed wine as though it were water. They have become lifeless, for they place all their reliance on material resources and do not seek the help of God. The heavenly soul has escaped their bodies as a pigeon flies from its nest. They are afflicted with the leprosy of material worship, which has con- sumed their internal organs. Thus, beware of this leprosy. I do not forbid you to employ material means within modera- tion; only that you do not become slaves to them like other nations and that you do not forget the God who is the very Provider of these means. Had you possessed insight, you would have seen that God is everything and all else is nothing. One cannot so much as stretch or fold one’s arms without His will. One who is [spirit- ually] dead may laugh at this, but physical death would have been better for him than such ridicule.