Handling Our Internal Struggle With Truth
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There is a wonderful story that illustrates the advice Jesus gave the disciples when He sent them out to tell people the good news - the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It’s about a conflict between the Wind and the Sun, about which was the most powerful. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in tornadoes, hurricanes, sand storms, and electric storms. He pointed out his ability to turn a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a raging forest fire which could level hundreds of thousands of acres of forestland.
There was not a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his power. The Sun grew tired of the Wind’s arrogance and planned to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.
“Look, you old wind bag,” bragged the Sun, “I’m going to prove you’re not as strong or influential as you think you are.”
“Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?” taunted the Wind.
“See that elderly Truth Student down there taking a walk?”
The Wind whirled himself around to get a closer look. The Wind smiled his pleasure and delivered a taunting gust of wind to throw the Truth Student off balance.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I see him. Kinda wimpy isn’t he? Surely you can find a more challenging subject than that weak old Truth Seeker!”
The Sun’s voice did not change as he leveled his dare. “I dare you to blow the Student’s jacket off his back.”
“Wow! You’re making this much too easy. In a short while,” he bragged, “I shall rule Heaven and Earth.”
He started to to blow, gently at first, to confuse the Truth Seeker. To his amazement, the believer clung to his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting to and fro across the avenue - but the elderly Truth student clutched his coat even tighter! The harder the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.
The Truth Student’s tenacity angered the Wind, so he blew huge gusts of wind, which pushed the gentleman into parked vehicles and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not let go of his jacket. One more fierce gust of wind blew the man’s hat off and knocked him down, but the man clung to his jacket even harder.
Finally, the Wind gave up and challenged the Sun to succeed where he had failed.
The Sun smiled and sent radiant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The man stood up and brushed off his jacket and trousers, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to perspire. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and neck.
The sun sent even more radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unzipped his jacket and finally removed it.
The Sun’s “soft sell” approach was much more persuasive, wouldn’t you agree? The Wind’s agenda was to rip the coat off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.
The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of persuasion is showing warmth, gentleness, and understanding through letting its light shine - instead of intimidation, force, judgmentalness, or shame.
The Sun used the same secret Jesus practiced when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on anyone. He encouraged a soft metaphysical approach. The story is in three of the four Gospels, so it is a valuable teaching. It shows up in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.
The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Reveal the Truth with those who are open to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don’t force the issue. Shake the dust off your feet and non-judgmentally continue your Truth walk.
Metaphysically, this passage is rich in timeless wisdom. I’ll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:
Jesus: that within us which knows and conscientiously strives to fulfill our Christ Potential
Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness
Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers inside us
Town or village: a group of accepted attitudes, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors
House: individual human consciousness
Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the shallowness of materialism or the unhealthy magnetism of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual understanding
Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual meaning:
1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, represented by the 12 disciples, which are strengthened by our (I Am-ness) to our existing beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will meet with some internal struggles. It is natural to feel some inner fighting whenever we are expanding our spiritual awareness.
2.Several of our beliefs will be easy to change. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you refocus your thinking to the new, higher spiritual Truth.
3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we need to deny the power of materialistic inclinations to cloud our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and continue to walk the spiritual path on practical feet.
