Count Your Blessings

I find reading Leonard Read's books both intellectually stimulating and spiritually refreshing. Though he is not a theologian and the way he sees the Bible is different from mine, I admire the way he applies both the Old and the New Testament to the realm of politico-economic problems. Chapter 6 of "Accent on the Right" is another example of such application. Its title is "Count Your Blessings". And due to the beauty of the ideas presented in the chapter, I could not help myself sharing them. Below is an excerpt from that wonderful chapter: 

To COUNT one's blessings is to accent what's right. But this might rarely be recognized as an item in the infinite realm of righteousness were we unaware of "Thou shalt not covet" as a wrong...

While many people deplore covetousness, few will compare it to murder, theft, adultery as an evil. Nor will they think of it as having any bearing on our current politico-economic problems. This wrong assessment may be due to the fact that "Thou shalt not covet" brings up the rear of the Mosaic thou-shalt-nots.

I suspect that the ordering of the Commandments had nothing to do with a sin-grading scheme. Only one of the ten had obvious priority and it became the First Commandment...And covetousness, more subtle and an afterthought, concludes the list. But on reflection, covetousness is as deadly as any of the other sins indeed, it tends to induce the others.

Covetousness or envy generates a destructive radiation with ill effect on all it touches.

Psychosomatic illnesses can be traced as much to envy as to hate, anger, worry, despondency.

But consider the social implications, the effects of envy on others. At first blush, the rich man appears not to be harmed because another covets his wealth. Envy, however, is not a benign, dormant element of the psyche; it has the same intensive force as rage, and a great deal of wisdom is required to put it down. Where understanding and self-control are wholly lacking, the weakling will resort to thievery, embezzlement, piracy, even murder, to gratify his envy and "get his share."

However, if the evil act can be screened, if the sense of personal guilt and responsibility can be sufficiently submerged, that is, if self-delusion can be effected, gratification of covetousness will be pursued by the "best people."

The way is an open secret: achieve anonymity in a mob, committee, organization, society, or hide behind legality or majority vote.

Our "best people," including the highly "educated," gratify their envy with no qualms whatsoever. But their salved conscience in no way lessens the evil of covetousness; quite the contrary, it emphasizes to us how powerfully this evil operates at the politico-economic level. This subtle evil is indeed the genesis of more obvious sins.

We should also note the extent to which this "guiltless" taking of property by coercion is rationalized. Accomplices, bearing such titles as philosophers and economists, rise to the occasion; they explain how the popular depredations are good for everyone, even for those looted. Thus, we find that covetousness, unchecked in the individual, lies at the root of the decline and fall of nations and civilizations.

Envy is a lust of the flesh as opposed to an elevation of the spirit. The Hindus saw it clearly for what it really is: "Sin is not the violation of a law or a convention but ... ignorance ... which seeks its own private gain at the expense of others...." William Penn grasped the point: "Covetousness is the greatest of om monsters, as well as the root of all Evil."

As a person cannot be in two places at the same time, so is it impossible for the eye to be cast covetously at the material possessions of others and cast aspiringly at one's own creativity...It's either hatch or rot, as with an egg; envy leaves the soul, the spirit, the intellect, the psyche to rot, and there can be no greater evil than this. 

When it is clear that covetousness thwarts Creation's purpose...it surely behooves each of us to find a way to rid himself of this evil.

I believe the way is simple to proclaim: Count your blessings!

Awareness of blessings is a state of consciousness and is not necessarily related to abundance and affluence. He who is rich in worldly goods but unaware of his blessings is poor, and probably covetous; he who is poor in worldly goods but aware of his blessings is rich, and assuredly without envy.

Exactly how unaware we are of our blessings can be seen by committing them to paper - actually counting. While they are in infinite supply, observe how few are recognized. Now, throw the list away; for these must be alive each and every day in the consciousness, not stored on paper, not mechanically canned.

As progress is made in an awareness of our blessings, we are struck by how greatly they outnumber our woes and troubles. In a state of unawareness, the woes loom enormous, and we tend to covetousness; in awareness the woes are but trifles, and the covetousness fades away.

What a remarkable cure for covetousness! While the cure rids us of our woes, it also puts us on the road to social felicity; and a further dividend is wisdom.

Source: Leonard E. Read, "Accent on the Right", 1968, pages 52-57

Published May 1968

Copyright 1968 by Leonard E. Read.

Permission to reprint granted without special request.

Keeping a Daily Journal

To surpass self is life's greatest occupation, says Leonard Read. One practical way to do this is by keeping a daily journal. After five days of doing this, I find it delightful and I saw myself more productive.

Read suggested that in keeping a daily journal, making an entry should be a regular discipline as you wake up in the morning and retire at night. This type of practice stimulates fresh flow of ideas. It includes both accomplishments and failures, insightful ideas from books and articles and any meaningful conversation both offline and online. The habit is beneficial for you to see gaps and inconsistency in your thoughts that need improvement. 

Read describes keeping a daily journal as a kind of "capturing device" or the way to intercept the beams (p.12). Abundant ideas are passing us by and without a tool to capture those ideas, a person will either stay intellectually stagnant in the midst of plenty or confused due to idea overload. However, there is one danger to avoid and that is to think that we are the source of such abundance. 

I like the way Read used the Mosaic Law in relation to abundance of ideas and ingratitude. The passage actually comes from Deuteronomy 8:17-18. What it says is this: "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today."

The passage does not only apply to material abundance. I think Read is right that it is also applicable to intellectual abundance. Its source is not us, but the Creator who gave us the ability to think. Violating this law would bring punishment upon ourselves. 

Source: 

Read, Leonard E. (1976). Comes the Dawn. New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.

Internal Freedom

Leonard Read in this chapter talks about inward freedom particularly in relation to looking down on someone. This is a difficult temptation to resist especially these days where discussions in social network are widespread. Most people are in the habit of name calling when they observe that someone does not see what they see or people are saying things they don't approve (p.11). 

Perhaps the way Read labels the ability to overcome the above temptation as inner freedom is something unpopular to many, but the essence of it is not new. Read claims that he based his concept from the New Testament referring in particular to the warning of the Lord in the Gospels, "...whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." 

Read has a high regard for the New Testament especially the Sermon on the Mount. Two psychiarists served as his guides in this kind of perception. They are Dr. Fritz Kunkel and Dr. James T. Fisher (p. 12). He shared with Dr. Kunkel's belief about the New Testament:

"But we have only one book which gives us the full description of the human situation, and of the way leading through all troubles and frustrations, and finally into utmost light. It is the great textbook of depth-psychology: The New Testament" (ibid.)

I just wonder why the Old Testament is not included. Anyway, to continue in despising others, says Read, will actually harm you more than the person whom you despised. You will have a new enemy. His mind will be closed to you no matter how insightful your words are. He will no longer listen to you. Read equates this in sinking your own ship (p. 15). 

And then Read mentioned about four prayer concerns. I find the first prayer concern very personal, the noble desire to straighten out someone's thought (p. 16). Inner freedom can never be achieved unless we learn to let go of that desire to manage someone's life. A "know-it-all person" will always remain a stranger to this kind of freedom. And so I made this prayer: " I am an angry man. I am a know-it-all person. I ask for forgiveness Lord. Make me a loving person instead. Grant me the grace of humility to see my mistake." 

Indeed, "The better world begins with that man who attends to his inner freedom" (p. 17). Amen! 

Reference:

Read, Leonard E. (1973). Who's Listening? New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.

Vision of Limited Government and Prosperity

This new discipline of keeping a daily journal was ignited by my reading of Leonard Read's books. Three days ago, I wrote in my journal that I read three chapters from three separate books. They are "Vision", "Thou Fool" and "Life's Greatest Occupations". And so today, since my remaining task for tomorrow's worship is just to include two songs in the PowerPoint presentation, I now have sufficient time to start writing about my thoughts about these three chapters. Let me start with "Vision". 

-----o-----o-----o-----

The man was Lord Tennyson. Leonard Read described him as a man of vision, of foresight. Such foresight is an outcome of politico-economic knowledge (p. 4). 

To demonstrate the power of vision, Read cited the experience of the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock. There was no development that time, but after seven generations, numerous countries were amazed and sent their delegates to inquire about the key to the Pilgrims' prosperity. Among four reasons, two caught my attention. Actually, they can be summed up in just one - limited government. 

If the government task is just confined in keeping the peace and pursuing common justice, that would be good for society and for economic development. Once the government transgressed this boundary, social and economic woes are the inevitable results. The modern day ideas that the government is perceived "as the endower of the rights to life and livelihood" (ibid.) are basically idolatrous. The state has usurped the rightful place that belongs only to God. Such ideas unless corrected will produce nothing but the erosion of society's moral fabric and increasing poverty.

Read without claiming such foresight, made prediction nonetheless, a very unfortunate prediction. He saw not a bright future, but economic disaster due to the increasing power of the government through socialistic means:

"I can foresee not the wonders but the disaster that lies ahead if our present decline into planned economy and welfare state-socialism continues" (ibid.) 

Reference: 

Read, Leonard E. ( 1978 ). Vision. New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.