How, then, can we avoid doing
wrong and breaking the law if we do the opposite of the wish of the lawgivers,
godlike men and dear to the gods, whom it is considered good and advantageous to
follow?
And certainly, we do the opposite
if we avoid having many children. How can we help committing a sin against the
gods of our fathers and against Zeus, guardian of the race, if we do this?
For just as the man who is unjust
to strangers sins against Zeus, god of hospitality, and one who is unjust to
friends sins against Zeus, god of friendship, so whoever is unjust to his own
family sins against the gods of his fathers and against Zeus, guardian of the
family, from whom wrongs done to the family are not hidden, and surely one who
sins against the gods is impious.
Now an appeal to piety? What else could Musonius
possibly do to go further against the grain of modernity?
The Divine here, however, is not just some clever
crutch to prop up this or that set of arbitrary social customs. The Divine is
the Mind behind the order and purpose of everything, that which binds the world
together, the meaning of the totality.
When I have the courage to do what is right, to
follow the calling of my own nature, then I will also find myself in harmony
with all of Nature. Therefore, whenever I act with virtue, with understanding
and with love, I also act with piety.
I cannot help but be reverent to God as long as I
pursue virtue. By extension, I cannot help but be irreverent to God as long as
I follow vice.
Whatever name we may give it, the Divine is present
in every expression of justice. The Divine is further present in every act of
friendship. The Divine is even more deeply present in every bonding with the
family.
As I narrow the circle, from my responsibility to
all people, to my responsibility to those who immediately live around me, to my
responsibility to my own flesh and blood, the degree of piety increases.
Where there is fairness, there you will also find
God. Where there is a personal fellowship, you will find a bit more of God.
Where there is the love between parents and children, there you will find
perhaps the greatest presence of God on this Earth. The greater the love, the
greater the holiness.
I must not confuse this with spouting noble words,
while turning my back on the needs of any person at all. I must not replace
friendship with mere utility. I must not look at my family as something made to
serve me, but as something I am made to serve.
Please don’t tell me that Jesus, or Krishna, or the
Buddha are just a bunch of pretty stories. In each case, even if it is manifest
in very different ways, the Universal was brought forth. The Divine was made
present in something human, reminding us how the love of neighbor and the love
of God go hand in hand. To love the whole is to love the part, and to love the
part is to love the whole.
I learn, more and more, that if I can’t find the face
of God in the people around me, then I also won’t manage to treat
them with the unconditional respect that they deserve. The smaller scene is
merely a part of the bigger picture.
No man or woman should ever be a mere convenience,
and no child should ever be treated like a burden. Zeus is honored when the
most helpless life is honored.
Written in 2/2000
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