*The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
Many, many years ago there was an emperor who was so terribly fond of beautiful new clothes that he spent all his money on his attire. He did not care about his soldiers, or attending the theatre, or even going for a drive in the park, unless it was to show off his new clothes. He had an outfit for every hour of the day. And just as we say, "The king is in his council chamber," his subjects used to say, "The emperor is in his clothes closet."
In the large town where the emperor's palace was, life was gay and happy; and every day new visitors arrived. One day two swindlers came. They told everybody that they were weavers and that they could weave the most marvellous cloth. Not only were the colours and the patterns of their material extraordinarily beautiful, but the cloth had the strange quality of being invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office or unforgivably stupid.
"This is truly marvellous," thought the emperor. "Now if I had robes cut from that material, I should know which of my councillors was unfit for his office, and I would be able to pick out my clever subjects myself. They must weave some material for me!" And he gave the swindlers a lot of money so they could start working at once.
They set up a loom and acted as if they were weaving, but the loom was empty. The fine silk and gold threads they demanded from the emperor they never used, but hid them in their own knapsacks. Late into the night they would sit before their empty loom, pretending to weave.
"I would like to know how far they've come," thought the emperor; but his heart beat strangely when he remembered that those who were stupid or unfit for their office would not be able to see the material. Not that he was really worried that this would happen to him. Still, it might be better to send someone else the first time and see how he fared. Everybody in town had heard about the cloth's magic quality and most of them could hardly wait to find out how stupid or unworthy their neighbours were.
"I shall send my faithful prime minister to see the weaver," thought the emperor. "He will know how to judge the material, for he is both clever and fit for his office, if any man is."
The good-natured old man stepped into the room where the weavers were working and saw the empty loom. He closed his eyes, and opened them again. "God preserve me!" he thought. "I cannot see a thing!" But he didn't say it out loud.
The swindlers asked him to step a little closer so that he could admire the intricate patterns and marvellous colours of the material they were weaving. They both pointed to the empty loom, and the poor old prime minister opened his eyes as wide as he could; but it didn't help, he still couldn't see anything.
"Am I stupid?" he thought. "I can't believe it, but if it is so, it is best no one finds out about it. But maybe I am not fit for my office. No, that is worse, I'd better not admit that I can't see what they are weaving."
"Tell us what you think of it," demanded one of the swindlers.
"It is beautiful. It is very lovely," mumbled the old prime minister, adjusting his glasses. "What patterns! What colours! I shall tell the emperor that I am greatly pleased."
"And that pleases us," the weavers said; and now they described the patterns and told which shades of colour they had used. The prime minister listened attentively, so that he could repeat their words to the emperor, and that is exactly what he did.
The two swindlers demanded more money, and more silk and gold thread. They said they had to use it for their weaving, but their loom remained as empty as ever.
Soon the emperor sent another of his trusted councillors to see how the work was progressing. He looked and looked just as the prime minister had, but since there was nothing to be seen, he didn't see anything.
"Isn't it a marvellous piece of material?" asked one of the swindlers; and they both began to describe the beauty of their cloth again.
"I am not stupid," thought the emperor's councillor. "I must be unfit for my office. That is strange; but I'd better not admit it to anyone." And he started to praise the material, which he could not see, for the loveliness of its patterns and colours.
"I think it is the most charming piece of material I have ever seen," declared the councillor to the emperor.
Everyone in town was talking about the marvellous cloth that the swindlers were weaving.
At last the emperor himself decided to see it before it was removed from the loom. Attended by the most important people in the empire, among them the prime minister and the councillor who had been there before, the emperor entered the room where the weavers were weaving furiously on their empty loom.
"Isn't it magnifique?" asked the prime minister.
"Your Majesty, look at the colours and patterns," said the councillor. And the two old gentlemen pointed to the empty loom, believing that all the rest of the company could see the cloth.
"What!" thought the emperor. "I can't see a thing! Why, this is a disaster! Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? Oh, it is too horrible!" Aloud he said, "It is very lovely. It has my approval," while he nodded his head and looked at the empty loom.
All the councillors, ministers, and men of great importance who had come with him stared and stared; but they saw no more than the emperor had seen, and they said the same thing that he had said, "It is lovely." And they advised him to have clothes cut and sewn, so that he could wear them in the procession at the next great celebration.
"It is magnificent! Beautiful! Excellent!" All of their mouths agreed, though none of their eyes had seen anything. The two swindlers were decorated and given the title "Royal Knight of the Loom."
The night before the procession, the two swindlers didn't sleep at all. They had sixteen candles lighting up the room where they worked. Everyone could see how busy they were, getting the emperor's new clothes finished. They pretended to take cloth from the loom; they cut the air with their big scissors, and sewed with needles without thread. At last they announced: "The emperor's new clothes are ready!"
Together with his courtiers, the emperor came. The swindlers lifted their arms as if they were holding something in their hands, and said, "These are the trousers. This is the robe, and here is the train. They are all as light as if they were made of spider webs! It will be as if Your Majesty had almost nothing on, but that is their special virtue."
"Oh yes," breathed all the courtiers; but they saw nothing, for there was nothing to be seen.
"Will Your Imperial Majesty be so gracious as to take off your clothes?" asked the swindlers. "Over there by the big mirror, we shall help you put your new ones on."
The emperor did as he was told; and the swindlers acted as if they were dressing him in the clothes they should have made. Finally they tied around his waist the long train which two of his most noble courtiers were to carry.
The emperor stood in front of the mirror admiring the clothes he couldn't see.
"Oh, how they suit you! A perfect fit!" everyone exclaimed. "What colours! What patterns! The new clothes are magnificent!"
"The crimson canopy, under which Your Imperial Majesty is to walk, is waiting outside," said the imperial master of court ceremony.
"Well, I am dressed. Aren't my clothes becoming?" The emperor turned around once more in front of the mirror, pretending to study his finery.
The two gentlemen of the imperial bedchamber fumbled on the floor trying to find the train which they were supposed to carry. They didn't dare admit that they didn't see anything, so they pretended to pick up the train and held their hands as if they were carrying it.
The emperor walked in the procession under his crimson canopy. And all the people of the town, who had lined the streets or were looking down from the windows, said that the emperor's new clothes were beautiful. "What a magnificent robe! And the train! How well the emperor's clothes suit him!"
None of them were willing to admit that they hadn't seen a thing; for if anyone did, then he was either stupid or unfit for the job he held. Never before had the emperor's clothes been such a success.
"But he doesn't have anything on!" cried a little child.
"Listen to the innocent one," said the proud father. And the people whispered among each other and repeated what the child had said.
"He doesn't have anything on. There's a little child who says that he has nothing on."
"He has nothing on!" shouted all the people at last.
The emperor shivered, for he was certain that they were right; but he thought, "I must bear it until the procession is over." And he walked even more proudly, and the two gentlemen of the imperial bedchamber went on carrying the train that wasn't there.
Hans Christian Andersen and 'The Emperor's New Clothes'; A Lesson for the 21st Century
On 7th April 1837 the great Danish teller of fairy tales Hans Christian Andersen penned the third volume of his 'Fairy Tales Told For Children'. The whole collection of tales included nine stories, but this third volume included just two. One was 'The Little Mermaid'. The other, though very brief, was a story of great morality and highly perceptive commentary on the human condition. It was of course, still a fairy story intended for children. But this was a fairy story which, in the opinion of the author of this page, has merits far beyond those of its humble origins - merits for which it deserves to be considered as a great work of 19th century literature. It was called 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.
WHAT'S THE STORY ?
Two weavers are approached by a vain, pompous Emperor who desires the finest and most luxurious clothes in all the land for himself - clothes befitting of his supreme status. The two weavers promise him just such a set of clothes, so fine and wonderful that they will be only for the eyes of the greatest and the best in society; indeed, they will be quite invisible to anyone who is stupid, incompetent or unworthy of their position in society. What's more, the clothes will be made of a material so fine ('as light as a spider web') that they will not weigh down the wearer, so fine, the wearer will not even be able to sense them draped over his body. Such a set of clothes would be perfect for a great Emperor. They would suit his sense of his own importance, and their magical properties would enable him to find out which of his ministers were unfit for their jobs ('and I could tell the wise men from the fools').
Of course, the weavers are nothing more than a pair of con-men - swindlers who have no intention of creating a fine set of clothes. They have heard of the Emperor's vanity and they believe they can turn his failings to their own advantage. So they decide to go to the pretence of making this set of fine clothes. Of course when the Emperor goes to visit the weavers at their work and they make a show of enthusing over the cloth and the clothes they are making, he cannot see anything at all. But he is too proud and arrogant to admit that he cannot see the clothes. To do so, he feels, would be to label himself as stupid and unfit to be Emperor. And of course when his courtiers and ministers visit the weavers, they also cannot see the clothes, but they too pretend that they can - because if they say anything different, they will be admitting their own incompetence and unworthiness. ('Can it be that I'm a fool? It would never do to let on that I can't see the cloth'). And if any of them did have their suspicions, well to voice their doubts about the existence of the clothes would be to imply that the Emperor himself was stupid enough and gullible enough to be taken in by this foolery.
When the Emperor finally walks out among his subjects in his non-existent finery, the crowds watch eagerly. They all want to see which of their friends or neighbours are so stupid that they cannot see the clothes. What actually happens of course, is that none of them see any clothes. But not one of them says anything except to praise the clothes. Perhaps some are embarrassed to tell the truth because they think that they themselves must be too stupid to see the cloth. Perhaps others believe that to say anything would be to draw attention to the truth of the Emperor's own stupidity. Perhaps others simply do not wish to be the first to speak out with a contrary voice to the crowd. Only one small child who is far too innocent of all this pretension and conceit and social convention shouts out 'But he hasn't got anything on!' At first his father tries to correct the boy, but gradually the news breaks out and everyone finally realises they are not alone in their inability to see the clothes. And everybody now finds the strength in numbers to admit that there is nothing to see, and they begin to laugh. The Emperor cringes, but continues with the procession, because to turn back would be to admit his own stupidity and gullibility. Better by far to continue on in the pretence that he is the only one with the wisdom to see the clothes. His courtiers likewise feel they have to continue to live the lie, and continue to dutifully follow their leader.
THE HISTORY OF 'THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES'
Where did Hans Christian Andersen get his inspiration for this particular fairy tale? It is known that some of his stories including 'The Ugly Duckling' and 'The Snow Queen', were entirely his own creation, while some others including 'The Princess and the Pea' were adaptations or ideas based on old folk tales. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' is in this latter category.
The story is based on the seventh of fifty cautionary tales in a 14th century Spanish collection by the colourful politician, soldier and writer, Juan Manuel, under the titles 'Libro de los ejemplos', also known as 'El Conde Lucanor' (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor). This collection in turn was derived from many other sources including Aesop's Fables and Arabian folktales.
The original story - 'A King and Three Imposters' - was very similar in many respects. Rather like Andersen's tale, it featured a ruler (a king) and a trio of unscrupulous weavers who had fabricated a story about invisible cloth. However it was somewhat different in its focus; Andersen's tale is principally about vanity and pride. in Juan Manuel's story, the clothes could only be seen by the true son of the man who was wearing them, and as such it was a story about illegitimate paternity - the king and his 'sons' were all concerned that if they confessed that they could not see the cloth, then this would prove that they were not of true royal descent. So they all pretended that they could see the non-existent cloth.
There is one other intriguing difference. In Andersen's tale, it takes the innocence of a child to point out the truth. In Juan Manuel's story it takes the innocence of a black spectator to point out the truth - the black person had no claim to be the son of the King and presumably at this time would have been of low status in society, and therefore had nothing to lose in telling the truth. A translation of this ancient story from 1335, can be found in the references, and makes an interesting read.
Quite why the key revelation was changed so that it comes from the mouth of a child is not clear. Of course the change would have made the story more appealing to children, the intended audience. However, it may have had its origins in an occasion when as a small boy Hans Christian Andersen had himself watched a parade in which he saw the then King of Denmark Frederick VI. No doubt he had been told of the power and finery of the King, and he later recalled that when he saw the King he had expressed surprise that the King looked 'just like an ordinary human being'.
Following publication in 1837, 'The Emperor's New Clothes' became a staple of recitals in polite society, and soon became one of the most popular of fairy tales. Since then the story has been adapted as the subject of a ballet, a musical, film and television cartoons, and thematically aspects of the story have been applied to many satirical works. It has been translated into more than 100 languages, and its place as one of the great children's tales has therefore been cemented. My aim is to show that it is also a great work for adults to learn from.
The ultimate irony in this story is that in attempting to conceal a supposed stupidity (by claiming to see clothes when none exist) the Emperor and his courtiers only succeed in confirming their real stupidy and gullibility.
WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT IT ?
'The Emperor's New Clothes' might be considered one of the great works of 19th century literature. Can that be defended? In some respects of course, it may be seen as an exaggeration. First of all this is a very short piece - just 1500 words in the English translation - which cannot bear comparison for literary merit with great novels. However brevity is not in itself a contraindication to greatness - one cannot judge greatness simply by the number of words written; otherwise no poetry could ever be considered as great. And Shakespeare himself said in 'Hamlet' that 'brevity is the soul of wit.'
It may also be argued that this is 'only' a trivial fairy tale for children. So what? There is no literary law which says that fairy tales cannot be as meritorious as serious stories for adults. Many look down their noses at such seemingly trivial pieces of fiction in the same way that some of the most pompous of classical actors may look down their nose at comedy dramas and classical musicians may look down their noses at popular music. They are wrong to do so.
But I would not of course recommend 'The Emperor's New Clothes' on the basis of its brevity or its target audience, and not even on the quality of writing. No. What sets the majority of revered works of literature apart from the rest is the thought provoking insight that they provide into the human condition. It is in this area that 'The Emperor's New Clothes' scores over other fairy tales which rather formulaically feature beautiful princesses, handsome princes, wicked witches and romance, and not much in the way of real perceptive comment. In this respect, 'The Emperor's New Clothes' also has more to recommend it in its few short paragraphs, than many an epic novel of action and adventure.
Some of these insights into human behaviour will be analysed in the next section.
IN A FEW SHORT PARAGRAPHS THIS FAIRY TALE DEMONSTRATES HOW:
1) The Emperor's pride makes it impossible for him to admit that he cannot see the clothes. Such an admission would deem him to be stupid. Pride makes him deny the truth of his own eyes. He ends up deceiving himself, because his pride matters more to him than the truth.
The message in the real world is that pride comes before a fall. The more pride one has, the more difficult it is to admit one's fallibility, and the more likely one is to allow that fallibility to influence one's judgement.
2) The Emperor's vanity and his overwhelming desire for the finest set of clothes ever to be fashioned, allows the con men to manipulate him. They can play on his vanity. They flatter him to deceive him into parting with his money.
The message in the real world is that vanity can lead one into making the worst of decisions and specifically the worst of purchases. Con artists play on people's vanity. And it's also how advertisers persuade consumers to spend money on expensive luxury items whose beauty may be illusory.
3) The folly of the unquestioning acceptance of 'facts' means that the truth is ignored. The Emperor and courtiers believe what the weavers tell them, and the crowd believe what their leader tells them, in spite of a total lack of hard evidence. The Emperor, the courtiers, the crowd - one after the other - they all assume that the existence of the clothes is unquestionable.
The message in the real world is that we should be critical and objective when examining 'facts'. Too many 'facts' which we hear are in reality merely beliefs and opinions (or even lies in the case of this story). The evidence needs to be very rigorously examined, and this alone should form the basis of our 'facts', or 'truth', even if it results in one arriving at a conclusion which is not popular or politically correct.
4) The Emperor's sense of self importance is boosted by having a bunch of obsequious 'yes men' around him. None of these 'yes men' is prepared to question the intelligence of his judgement and none of them is prepared to say or do anything which might damage their standing in their ruler's eyes.
The message in the real world is that gathering 'yes men' around him is the worst thing a leader can do, be it an emperor, a president, or a managing director. If the followers of a leader are unwilling or unable to tell him the truth, to stand up to him, to criticise when he is wrong, then detachment from reality grows and the leader's conceited self-belief will soar to levels of self-deception. If no one tells him that he is sometimes wrong, he will believe he is always right.
5) The folly of behaving like sheep leads to the crowd living a collective lie. All the crowd can see no clothes and yet none of the crowd is willing to stand up for the truth. It's so much easier for everyone to just go with the consensus and conform, rather than to think for themselves.
The message in the real world is that the instinct to conform and agree with the majority, too often outweighs the courage to say what one actually believes. But history has shown that the majority is not always right. If people in the crowd refuse to stand up for the truth in the presence of a falsehood, then that way lies the descent into a sham society in which the truth is never spoken. The worst excesses of dictators have not come about when they have been forced to brutally defend against courageous opposition. The worst excesses have come when the dictator has been free to continue to live and escalate his lies because the majority - both in the inner circles of government (the 'courtiers') and in the general public (the 'crowd' lining the streets) - have failed to speak out through self-interest or through fear. (Think of the rise of Nazi Germany, and its culmination in the holocaust to see how true this is).
6) The folly of everyone in the story who claims to see beauty where no beauty exists, is the direct result of the collective, undue respect for supposed experts - fake weavers who enthuse over their 'wonderful' cloth, and the court officials who praise the invisible clothes.
The message in the real world is that just as in the story, we far too often believe that something must be good because an 'expert' tells us it's good. The best examples are in the fields of popular culture, fashion and modern art where an absolute absence of talent and beauty may be dressed up with 'image'. In the case of much popular culture and fashion, it should be clear that real talent is lacking - otherwise the culture or fashion would survive. Fashion, by definition, is transient, whilst true talent and beauty will be recognised forever. In the case of modern art, works which require little imagination in their conception and no talent in their creation, sell for $1000s, because they are hyped with pretentious pseudo-intellectual babble (in much the same way as the clothes in the story are hyped by the weavers whose 'expert' words are believed.
7) The Emperor continues his parade even when the crowd are laughing at him. To turn back would be to admit that he cannot see the clothes (which would label him as 'stupid' according to the weavers) or that he realises he has been fooled by the weavers (in which case he is gullible as well as stupid). Either way, he'd be deemed to be stupid. Instead he continues blindly on pretending that everyone else is wrong and he is right - the most stupid response of all.
The message in the real world is that folly is only compounded by continuing with it. Too many people prefer to carry on blindly rather than admitting to a mistake and withdrawing gracefully and humbly. Many tragedies, even wars, have been caused by continuation with a course of action even after all the evidence has shown it to be misguided.
8) The child who speaks out when no one else dares to, is at first exposed to ridicule and scorn. But eventually truth wins the day as the crowd recognise the lie they've been a party to.
The message in the real world is that free thinking individuality and freedom from social conventions which may be rooted in folly can allow the truth to emerge even when no one else is initially prepared to admit it. This is so true even today. For the innocence of the child in the story, to the man who can see an injustice in society which others are blind to, all should have the confidence to speak out. If the individual is wrong, then at least he has shown guts, but if he is right, then people will gradually appreciate his rightness, and society will change for the better.
CONCLUSIONS
If one looks behind the very simple language in the telling of this fairy tale, one finds a story of the failings of human beings - failings which have caused so much grief, hardship and sadness in the world. The vain, proud Emperor, unsuited to the job of high office, the pandering obsequious henchmen whose support is offered uncritically, and the crowd who fail to recognise truth and prefer to allow lies to continue because that is the easier option - we can recognise all of these in today's nations and societies. We recognise them, but we do not necessarily apply them to our own lives. There are undoubted lessons in 'The Emperor's New Clothes' which have not been learned by all. But they are lessons which make this the most intelligent of all fairy tales for both children and adults.
-Greensleeves Hubs
"A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn’t the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn’t flat. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic."
Dresden James
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Revelation 3:14-22 KJV
THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA
Since we too have fallen victim to the complacency of our imagined successes, it would be well for us to take a closer look at the church in Laodicea.
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’“ Wealth marked this congregation, probably with finances as well as with the influence in the community—two things that neither Jesus nor any of his disciples ever enjoyed. “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Their external wealth blinded them to the true status of their spiritual depth. What Jesus says to them in Revelation 3:14-22 applies to us no less.
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (vv. 15,16).
This passage has made “lukewarm” the most feared accusation in Christendom even though we don’t understand why a cold person is better than a lukewarm one. At least he’s heating up, isn’t he?
No, and that misses the point entirely. A cold person is hard and rebellious. He makes no pretense of religion and offers it no lip service. Whether by indifference or outright hostility, a cold heart lives up to its confession: “There is no God, and even if there is, I’m going to do it my way.”
A hot person is a zealot—one who burns with conviction. Like the cold person, he has no room for pretense or lip service. He doesn’t merely talk about Jesus, go to church weekly, or watch Christian television. He seeks God wholeheartedly and obeys him even at great personal cost. Jesus must be first, and everything which distracts from that objective must go. Such people are uncomfortable to be around because their very lives expose our rationalizations for what they are—excuses to mix our Christianity with the attractions of the world.
In contrast to both of these, the lukewarm person’s confession never matches his lifestyle. In fact his words are a substitute for his actions. He finds safety in pretense and lip service. The reason that Jesus would rather have us cold than lukewarm is because the lukewarm are no closer to him than the cold ones, but they don’t even know it.
The lukewarm are those who redefine religion to fit them- selves. To such people God cannot draw near. That’s why Jesus chided the Pharisees for their pretense of religion almost in the same breath that he used to forgive the harlot. Being lukewarm allows people the dubious luxury of thinking they have the life of God yet still being free to pursue the objectives of this age. They can give God precedence with their mouth (saying the right thing is easy), their ceremonies (going to the right places is habit-forming), and their actions (doing many right things keeps the conscience at bay), but they still don’t have to surrender their will in everything.
The effect of their lukewarmness was measured in the impotence of their spirituality. Jesus pointed to three key areas in which they were deficient, and in doing so he gives us additional insight into their nakedness.
1. Gold refined by fire. Fire-refined gold is a common biblical analogy for an active faith that can stand the test of difficult circumstances. It is a far cry from the pseudofaith touted today that attempts to compel God to give us whatever we desire. Faith is not a gimmick; it is an intimate trust and dependence on God that is not hinged to circumstances but is grounded deep in God’s nature.
Fire-refined faith takes us through the death of loved ones, unemployment, and persecution with a confidence that con- tinues to trust God’s love even when we cannot reconcile it with our circumstances. Such faith will find rest in God’s presence and will give us wisdom to either help us bear the crises with God’s strength or else show us how he wants to change those circum- stances by his miraculous intervention.
2. White clothes to wear. The robes of righteousness are well-known in Scripture. Yet Christ said that they had none at Laodicea. Laodicea was not known for sin, but its righteousness was like that of the Pharisees—external, motivated only by the desire to increase spiritual status. Today the church can’t even claim to look righteous, for promiscuity, greed, bitterness, and gossip abound. The list goes on and we try to excuse it by a bumper-sticker theology that says, “Be Patient, God Isn’t Finished With Me Yet!” or “Christians Aren’t Perfect, Just Forgiven.”
Shouldn’t we be tired of falling victim to the same sins year after year, without seeing any hope of change? God wants us to wear his robes of righteousness, which spring up effortlessly from within people who are caught up in loving him. That’s why true righteousness makes someone holy and not pious, humble and not prideful, compassionate and not disparaging. And though it is a lifelong process, every month we can see progress and find ourselves bearing God’s image to people around us.
3. Salve for your eyes. Finally, the Laodiceans lacked discern- ment. Not only couldn’t they see their own spiritual wretched- ness, but they could see little else about God’s working in their world. Discernment is the first thing to be covered by the crust of lukewarmness. The still, small voice diminishes and we learn to get along without it, living by principles and rules of conduct rather than by the direction of the Holy Spirit.
The Naked Church PDF. - Lifestream
-The Naked Church by Wayne Jacobsen
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