Handling Our Internal Struggle With Truth

By Drs Bil & Cher Holton

There is a great story that demonstrates the advice Jesus gave His followers when He sent them out to tell people the good news - the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It is about a struggle between the Wind and the Sun, about who was the strongest. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in tornadoes, hurricanes, sand storms, and thunder storms. He pointed out his ability to transform a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a raging forest fire which could level hundreds of thousands of acres of woods.

There wasn't a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his strength. The Sun grew weary of the Wind's arrogance and decided to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.

"Look, you old wind bag," bragged the Sun, "I'm going to prove you are not as powerful or influential as you think you are."

"Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?" taunted the Wind.

"See that old Truth Student down there taking a walk?"

The Wind whirled himself around to get a better look. The Wind smiled his joy and sent a taunting gust of wind to throw the Truth Student off balance.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I observe him. Kinda wimpy isn't he? Surely you can find a better subject than that pathetic old Truth Seeker!"

The Sun's voice did not change as he leveled his dare. "I dare you to blow the Student's jacket off his back."

"Wow! You're making this much too easy. In a short while," he bragged, "I shall rule Heaven and Earth."

He began to blow, playfully at first, to confuse the Truth Seeker. To his surprise, the man held onto his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting back and forth across the street - but the elderly man grasped his jacket even tighter! The stronger the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.

The Truth Student's strength angered the Wind, so he blew huge gusts of wind, which pushed the man into parked vehicles and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not let go of his jacket. Another fierce gust of wind blew the man's hat off and knocked him to the ground, but the man clung to his coat even harder.

Finally, the Wind gave up and challenged the Sun to succeed where he had failed.

The Sun grinned and sent radiant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The gentleman stood up and brushed off his coat and slacks, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to respond to the heat. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and neck.

The sun sent even more radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unzipped his jacket and finally removed it.

The Sun's "soft sell" approach was much more persuasive, wouldn't you agree? The Wind's agenda was to rip the coat off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.

The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of power is showing warmth, kindness, and understanding through letting its light shine - instead of intimidation, power, judgmentalness, or humiliation.

The Sun applied the same secret Jesus understood when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on others. He encouraged a soft metaphysical approach. The message is in three of the four Gospels, so it is an important teaching. It appears in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.

The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Share the Truth with those who are ready to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don't force things. Shake the dust off your sandals and non-judgmentally move forward on your Truth journey.

Metaphysically, this story is rich in timeless wisdom. I'll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:

Jesus: that within us which recognizes and conscientiously works to fulfill our Christ Potential

Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness

Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers inside us

Town or village: a group of accepted views, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors

House: individual human consciousness

Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the shallowness of materialism or the unhealthy magnetism of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual understanding

Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual meaning:

1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, represented by the 12 disciples, which are strengthened by our (I Am-ness) to our current beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will meet with some internal resistance. It is normal to experience some inner fighting whenever we are stretching our spiritual awareness.

2.Some of our beliefs will be easy to revamp. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you shift your thinking to the new, greater spiritual Truth.

3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we need to deny the power of materialistic inclinations to cloud our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and continue to walk the spiritual path on practical feet.