Investments In Eternity

I ponder dying often; it seems like every day. This past week I had a heart-attack scare that turned out not to be a heart problem at all. However, my blood pressure shot sky-high for a short period, and I thought this might be the “big one,” as comedian Redd Foxx used to quip acting as junkyard owner “Fred Sanford.” 

Sadhguru teaches that when we pass from these bodies, we leave our discriminating mind behind – the soul (atman, our essence) then operates from the tendencies it has gathered through millennia of incarnations. The next birth we take is with a mother and family that shares the tendencies of our soul. 

Jesus cautioned us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The “treasures” Jesus speaks of are the tendencies of our souls we take with us from lifetime to lifetime. Every time a person is selflessly kind, generous, patient, compassionate, gentle, loving, etc., they add spiritual wealth to their spirit that can never be lost for all eternity! The Divine guarantees all deposits in our eternal love accounts!

I’ve worked with and for many wealthy individuals my entire life, most of whom have done an exceptional job of investing their money and reaping the full rewards of the material world. While observing their example, I have chosen to spend my existence investing my time and resources in the only thing I believe survives this reality we share – souls. 

Speaking for the Divine, the prophet Malachi wrote, “Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.”

Maharaj-ji Baba Neem Karoli taught, “If you have enough faith, you can give up money and possessions. God will give you everything you need for your spiritual development.” Said by a Man who owned only a blanket putting His money where His mouth was!

Adri and I have tested Maharaj-ji more than once with our finances. I can testify to you that He’s always come through without exception. Not once on our timetable, but He’s been trustworthy nonetheless. No one is more generous than God. Were there scary moments? You bet – that’s how faith grows. However, the blessings of relinquishing material wealth for God’s purpose are priceless. 

Ram Dass said, “In the 1970s, I was in India studying with my guru, Maharaji. One day he called me in and said, “Your father has a lot of money. . . . You are not to accept an inheritance.” I was startled by his mandate, but it felt right to me. I hadn’t been aware that I wanted my dad’s money and was waiting for him to die, but once I let go of the inheritance, the effect was profound. Suddenly, I just wanted my dad to be happy. He had worked hard, and I wanted him to enjoy spending his money. I helped him to remarry and became close buddies with him and his new wife. I was freed up to love him—and he recognized that.”

After having this experience with his father, Ram Dass suggested, “Keep what you need for your personal needs and family responsibilities. Then be a trustee for the rest of the money; pass it through you as a way to heal the Universe.”

As I was experiencing chest pains and slight numbness in my arm this last week, a tremendous sense of inquisitiveness overcame me. I thought, “If today is my last day, I’ll finally get to know if my investments have paid off!” There’s ample joy in such a thought!

It’s possible that when I respire out this body’s last puff of air, that’s the bitter end. Although I believe in reincarnation and don’t think death is final, it could be. Everything that is “John” might simply cease to exist – poof! One last out-breath and then darkness. I’m OK with that possibility too – “John” wouldn’t know the difference anyway! 

However, I’m insanely curious if my lifetime of investing in others was sound. Might all these years of loving, serving, and giving actually pay off? Could the very outlandish words of Jesus, Maharaj-ji, and scores of prophets be true? I have to die to find out! Isn’t that a marvelous system? What we can see all passes away, but what we cannot see just might be for eternity! 

Jesus, who spoke more about money than any other subject, instructed, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 

Do you know when the truth really comes out about who or what a person served with their incarnation? 

On their deathbed. 

Being in ministry has given me a front seat to several folks passing. It’s infrequent for an individual in their last moments to be pining for more wealth or power – I’ve never witnessed such. Instead, folks weep about the souls they failed to love. In his book “Die Wise,” Stephen Jenkinson, a master death counselor, noted that “in the end, wants, more than fame or infamy or self-esteem or even love, to be held.”

The more a person holds on to material things, the fewer souls will be there to hold them as they depart. 

Who or what are you serving with your life? 

Maharaj-ji suggested that instead of material things, we “keep God in your heart like you keep money in the bank.” 

Use the birth for all it’s worth!

In Christ with you,

JC