YouTube: Soul Searching
“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20
While this seems like a personal warning to the modern reader, it will help to get some context. The scribes and Pharisees were religious professionals whose positions gave them special recognition. Seeking such positions often meant that it was the position itself, and not the spiritual quest, that drew their interest. If we think of Jesus referring to the kingdom of heaven as the spiritual dimension rather than a place you go when you die, then this makes sense.
To be productive, the spiritual quest must be pure, based on an honest desire to know God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). If we are seeking God simply as a means of solving a problem, then our spiritual quest will only take us as far as the end of the problem. Meister Eckhart addressed this issue with this famous quote:
“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love a cow – for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage.”
Soul searching, at its best, is really about understanding our spiritual motive. Are we seeking an understanding of the bigger picture, and how we fit in, or are we simply looking for a little milk and cheese? If we actually want to enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, if we want to experience genuine spiritual revelations, then we need to become pure in heart, to seek God for the sake of knowing God. This is why Jesus put this at the top of the list, to seek first the kingdom and all other things would be added.
We all appreciate people who want to get to know us, not for what they can get from us, but because they value us as people. These are the relationships that are most meaningful and most reciprocal.