We all know/realize that the environment in which we live impact the way we behave. The more imperfect the spirit is, the more it will suffer influences from the environment. The greatest spirits resist and can not only overcome negative influences, but also leave a positive mark. Jesus is the greatest example we have. The Master never seemed to have imperfections such as revolt, selfishness, gluttony, maledicence, envy and/or many others that existed at that time and still exist amongst mankind. The Master didn’t even feel influenced by the religious rituals and ceremonies that happened at that time. He didn’t even get involved with the political or religious power that ruled at that time. He always acted with equilibrium. He mixed tenderness with firmness, testifying what he taught: “love your enemies”; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”; “do good to those who hate you”; “Treat others as you would like to be treated "; “Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No' be 'No'”; “Give free what you received free”.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, Sir William Crookes Spiritist Society linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
Jesus brought us a new concept of religious life. Religion, as Jesus taught and showed us with his example, should not be restricted to the temple but practiced in our daily lives. The entire world, as well as the Universe, is the temple of God. The religious concepts should influence man’s behavior during all his actions in life.
Spiritism brought us Jesus’ teachings back to us once more. It teaches us we should apply the teachings from the Gospel we learn at the spiritist centers in our daily lives: at home, at work, in the streets, at leisure… The third part of The Spirits' Book is called “Moral Laws”. It orientates us on how we should act, disseminating the Christian concepts in all aspects of human activity. This is the reason why Spiritism calls our attention so we can face life in a more global way; not just as being religion. We learn that reality involves the truths and the concepts learned at the spiritist centers and in the spiritist books which should be put into practice with our fellow creature; every time and everywhere.
The spiritist should act in accordance with the teachings from Jesus’ Gospel, aiming to cultivate good thoughts, good conversations, without the use of inappropriate words and being careful with the jokes told. We should be selective with the books we read and the movies we watch; as well as adopt the Gospel at Home practice.
When Jesus says to us in his Gospel: “let your light shine before men” (Matthew, 5: 16), the Master is encouraging us to improve and carry out our inner reform in society, since we know good relationships with our fellow creatures don’t rely on others, but on our own efforts of tolerance and comprehension.
The spiritist should always respect laws and regulations; no matter if they were set up by the government or if these are simple rules from the school, the club or the building you live in. If each one of us lives as wish for, life in society would be chaotic. When Jesus taught us: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's” (Matthew 22: 21), he wanted to say we must obey the laws, as he himself obeyed. Based on this teaching, the spiritist should respect the laws, even if they seem unjust. If he thinks the law is unjust, he should try to change it if it’s possible to do so; otherwise, he needs to respect it.
We should remember the precepts from the Gospel when we are either playing or just watching sports. We should be vigilant in order to avoid ‘going with crowd’. We should remember the recommendation from the Apostle Paul: “Everything is permissible for me—but not everything is beneficial” (Corinthians, 6: 12). The Apostle wants to say that we can do many things as we have our freedom, but we must always evaluate if what we are going to do is beneficial to us, Christians, eternal spirits who are responsible for our destiny.
The teachings from the spirits should also be taken into account at the classrooms, in terms of valorizing the time. The spiritist student should be conscious of the great opportunity he/she has been given. The student is able to take part at a school; there are thousands of creatures who are not even able to read. He, conscious of the opportunity granted, he should study seriously. He should also make sure he knows when it’s time to study and when it’s time to have fun. The spiritist students should be happy and extrovert, but study seriously when required.
The Spiritist Doctrine teaches us that work is not a punishment but a natural activity for the incarnate as well as the disincarnate spirit. In our present society, we all must have a useful occupation even if we don’t need to earn money (if we already retired or have enough resources that allow us not to rely on a monthly salary). There is no such a thing as retirement in the spiritual world as many individuals imagine. Laziness is not an option available either.
The divine wisdom and mercy allow us to be reborn exactly in the social ambient we need to continue our spiritual perfection. That’s why Spiritism is against the isolation of the human creature in religions communities. There are individuals who get distant from the world, hiding in convents or monasteries.
It is relatively easy to live the Christian precepts amongst people who have the same way of thinking as us. Therefore, life asks us to testify by living closely to individuals who think, feel and act in a different way from us. If we live only amongst the ones who are similar to us, this will not help us progress spiritually.
Our efforts made of living live closely to people who don’t have a religious belief or even our level consciousness is important. We should give our testimony, explaining with words and demonstrating with examples. We will have the opportunity to practice our understanding, benevolence, tolerance, patience, forgiveness... Our biggest example comes from Jesus, who never isolated himself from being around the human creatures. He neither recommended such behavior to his disciples.
He sent them to the world saying: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew, 10: 16).