Luke 3:13 · World English Bible
Luke 3:13 Meaning He Said to Them
He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”
What does Luke 3:13 mean?
To exact more than is appointed is the ego's endless demand, the belief that the mind is owed something the world keeps failing to pay, and so it presses and grasps and takes, certain that its lack must be made up from outside. This grasping is guilt in disguise, for a mind convinced it has been robbed of its worth will spend its life trying to collect what it thinks is due.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
Luke 3:13 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
To exact more than is appointed is the ego's endless demand, the belief that the mind is owed something the world keeps failing to pay, and so it presses and grasps and takes, certain that its lack must be made up from outside. This grasping is guilt in disguise, for a mind convinced it has been robbed of its worth will spend its life trying to collect what it thinks is due.
To take only what is appointed is not mere fairness but the release of that whole demand. A mind at peace has stopped believing it was shortchanged, because it has remembered that its true supply was never in another's hands. When the sense of lack dissolves, the pressing stops, for there is nothing left to extort from a world that never owed it anything.
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Live Luke 3:13 today
- When you are quietly running the tally of what you are owed, the credit, the thanks, the raise, the apology, stop mid tally and let the account close unpaid.
- In a negotiation or a split bill today, take your share and no more, even when you could get away with a little extra. Watch how that feels.
- When you feel shortchanged at work, pause before sending the email that collects. Ask whether you want the thing or want proof that you were worth it.
What do I believe the world owes me, and what is that bill costing me to carry?
The same truth in other traditions
Tao Te Ching 46
There is no greater poverty than wanting more. Knowing when you have enough is the only wealth that stays.
Stoicism · Epictetus
Wealth is not having a great deal; it is wanting little. The ledger you keep against the world is the thing keeping you poor.
Dhammapada
Thirst grows by drinking. Even a rain of gold would not satisfy a mind set on more, because the lack is in the wanting, not the having.
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