As always, we spoke of spiritual matters today. The conversation walked through several subjects and we came up with some ideas that people might find interesting.
Imagine a cockroach. Give this cockroach a sense of self and an understanding of good and evil (within the limits of its senses of course).
Now to this cockroach, food is good, abundant food is better. A life without poison, predatory spiders and large squishing feet is a good life. This cockroach would view something that threatens it's life and health as bad. Let us say, to the cockroach, this would be conceived of as evil.
To this cockroach, a clean, orderly person, armed with a spray can and large feet, might be seen as evil. Might be seen as the devil. Its sister, and brother, times 150, just got sprayed and stepped on. Oh my! What kind of being would do this??? How cruel, how evil.
To this cockroach, a slob, someone who drops food, doesn't clean and doesn't use poison, and doesn't step on bugs...is good. In fact, this person might be seen as God by the cockroach, for all things that make life possible flow from the person.
The cockroach has no concept of diseases that affect humans. It has no idea that a person might find it's ideal environment disgusting and dangerous. It may have all sorts of ideas in its little head as to why these things happen. There could even be atheist cockroaches in the clean persons house, saying things like "how could God let these things happen?" or perhaps "I can't believe in a God that would allow/do those things".
Yet, the poison gets sprayed, the boot comes down, the bleach cleans up the mess. Nothing the cockroaches do or think changes it.
The cockroach does not have the long view that the human has, nor does it understand the consequences of over breeding and messing its environment.
This can be seen as a metaphor for humans and God. How do we know what God thinks? How can we say that someone's death, suffering, etc, is evil? How do we know what God sees? We see suffering and say "How can God allow this?" We see war, evil, disease etc. and we say "This is the work of the devil!" Is it? Take the cockroach...in each case it is a human, but when the human provides what it needs and wants, it calls that good, when the cockroach suffers, it calls it evil. This is what we do. We cry out against what we see as evil. We cheer what we see as good, and even the very religious will often wonder why God allows things to happen.
We simply cannot see, conceive or understand God's viewpoint. This is what I believe to be the core message behind such sayings such as "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord" or "Judge not, lest you be judged". Things like the ultimate nature of good and evil are up to God, and we can only hold on and hope that God doesn't decide that its in our best interest to be stepped on.
Now, as to the Vanities...
Imagine a valley filled with ranches. Field after field of them. Each a large area of grass, each a safe place for the cattle. Only natural disasters to fear, acts of God as it were. They roam free, feed as they go and no nothing beyond the fences and the demands of their lives. The Ranchers tend the cattle, feeding them in times of cold, providing the pastures for feeding in warm weather. The Rancher breeds them, shelters them, brands them...and eventually they are slaughtered and eaten.
The Rancher doesn't hate them. In fact, the Rancher could even be thought to have some affection for them. After all, they in turn will feed the Rancher.
The Rancher is a Vanity. Like the Rancher, the Vanity tends its herds (of humans) and nurtures them until they are taken in for slaughter and consumption. When a Rancher loses a cow, he will go to great lengths to recover that cow. So a Vanity will do also. When you are lost to a Vanity, that Vanity will make great efforts to recover you.
If you are addicted to drugs, of course they will come your way. If it is sex that you desire...just turn on the tv or surf the net. Money, power, politics? All within easy reach when your Vanity wants you back.
Like the Rancher, the Vanity believes it is doing right. It is providing a service...some even believe that they cull the herd and make the remaining cattle strong.
These are some of the things we discussed today....
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