Page 142 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

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Chapter 38
The Seed of God

Truly good people do not proclaim their goodness
a
And are therefore truly good
b
Foolish people speak of their goodness
And are therefore truly not good

Truly good people remain still according to the Spirit
a
And act with no agenda
b
Foolish people take action according to the flesh
And act with agenda

Kind people act regardless of merit
c
And act without agenda
d
Self-righteous people act to gain merit
And act with agenda

e
Highly ritual people act to gain merit
And when people do not respond
They pull up their sleeves and enforce order

Therefore, when the Way of God is lost, superficial goodness
appears f
When goodness is lost, superficial kindness appears
When kindness is lost, self-righteousness appears
When self-righteousness is lost, contrived ritual appears

Contrived ritual is the shell of faith and truth f
And the beginning of chaos
As to foreknowledge, it is our own flowery knowledge of God
And the beginning of folly

g
Therefore, a truly great man dwells in the depths of God and
not the surface
He seeks the seed of the fruit and not the flower
Truly, he prefers what is within and discards the outer