It is
following
this
path
that we
again
have to
revisit
Chapter
XII of The
Gospel
According
to
Spiritism in
order to
understand
that "to
love our
enemies
is not
to have
an
affection
for them
that is
not
natural",
as
Kardec
tells
us,
because,
truly,
there is
no way
that we
can be
fond of
the one
whose
thoughts
and
actions
do not
appeal
to us,
on the
contrary,
they
drive us
away,
according
to the
physical
laws
regarding
fluids
and
vibrations
that the
Encoder
explains
so well.
On the
other
hand, we
can
conclude
that the
Moral
Law of
Preservation
also
stems
from the
instinctive
or
rational
conduct
of man
to move
away
from
those
people
who can
do him
harm,
because
the
instinct
of
conservation
encourages
him to
stay
alive
and
healthy
to
collaborate
in the
designs
of
Providence.
So, in
what
sense
should
we love
our
enemies?
Kardec,
with the
simplicity
and
clarity
that
marks
his
work,
teaches
us that
to love
our
enemies
is:
[...]
not
having
against
them any
grudge
or
desire
for
revenge.
It is to
forgive
without
ulterior
motives
and
unconditionally,
the evil
that
they did
to us.
It is to
put no
obstacle
to
reconciliation;
it is to
wish
them
good in
place of
evil; it
is to be
happy
instead
of being
annoyed
with the
good
that
happens
to them;
it is to
help
them out
in case
of need;
it is to
abstain,
in words
and
attitudes,
from
anything
that
might
harm
them. It
is,
finally,
to pay
them
good for
evil,
with no
intention
of
humiliating
them.
Whoever
does
this
fulfills
the
conditions
of the
commandment:
Love
your
enemies.
Lastly,
to love
our
enemy is
nothing
more
than to
fulfill
the
Christian
commandment
to love
our
neighbor
as
ourselves,
paying
him the
evil he
has done
for us
with the
good we
desire,
in order
to end
the
cycle of
hatred
and
offenses
and to
point
out that
love is
the path
that
brings
us
closer
to God.
One
realizes
that, as
the
Encoder
explains,
the love
to which
Christ
refers
to is
not that
based
solely
on the
sublime
feeling
of
loving,
of
liking
with
affection
and
tenderness,
this one
more
difficult
and
proper
of the
more
perfect
Spirits.
What
Jesus
seeks to
promote
is the
practice
of love
through
acts of
kindness
and
charity,
which
are
capable
of being
realized
from
rational
decisions,
for the
benefit
of
others
and
especially
of our
enemies.
In fact,
to love,
as a
divine
feeling,
does not
derive
from a
simple
decision.
We do
not
choose
simply
to love
or not
to love
a
person.
Love, in
this
sense,
derives
from the
soul
itself
and
demands
learning
through
different
experiences,
which
almost
always
cannot
be done
in a
single
incarnation,
with the
exception
of
maternal,
paternal
and
filial
love,
provided
by God
just so
that we
can
learn to
love.
But the
love
that
Kardec
refers
to when
interpreting
the
commandment
of Jesus
is love
materialized
in
deeds,
acting,
in
thinking,
in
wanting,
that is,
in our
experiences
as
humans,
and this
yes can
derive
from
rational
deliberations
that we
take for
our own
good and
our
neighbor.
In this
sense,
it is
perfectly
possible
not to
feel
love for
someone
who has
done us
wrong,
but for
a
rational
decision,
based on
moral
precepts
and love
for God,
to love
this
person
and do
him
good.
Obviously,
it's not
that
simple.
However,
love, in
this
sense,
is
something
that can
and
should
be
exercised
by us,
depending
on
whether
we want
to or
not. The
important
thing is
to
decide,
within
ourselves,
to do
good, to
forgive,
to help,
which
will put
us in a
psychic-spiritual
state
that
will
allow us
to
practice,
through
practical
experience,
good and
charity,
so that,
we will
be
loving
our
neighbor
and
ready to
love our
enemies
as well.
4.
Forgiveness
as a
manifestation
of Love
and
Charity
When it
is
decided
to study
love as
a
Christian
commandment,
special
attention
should
be paid
to the
act of
forgiveness,
one of
the most
important
issues,
and
latent
among
those
mentioned
in the
Gospel
and also
in the
works of
the
Encoder
of the
Spiritist
Doctrine.
At
first,
it seems
simple
to
understand
that it
is
important
to
forgive
the
offenses
that are
directed
to us,
and that
this
would be
a
decisive
step to
loving
our
enemies.
But
what,
after
all, is
forgiveness
and why
is it so
difficult
to do
so? To
forget
what
happened
is to
forgive?
To not
want the
evil for
those
who
offended
us is
this to
forgive?
To want
the good
for your
enemy is
that to
forgive?
These
questions
show us
that it
is not
so
simple
to
define
forgiveness,
much
less to
know
whether
or not
we
really
have
forgiven
someone
who has
hurt us
at any
given
time.
A
starting
point
for our
reflections
is to
know the
origin
of the
word
"pardon",
which,
according
to
etymological
studies,
comes
from the
Latin perdonare,
per
“total,
complete”
plus donare, “to
give, to
hand, to
donate”.
To
forgive,
in this
sense,
is the
act of
giving,
handing,
give
something
to
someone
else,
but in a
complete,
full
way,
relating
to the
idea of
"total
acquittal"
of
someone,
which
shows
that the
word
"forgiveness"
since
its
origin,
is
closely
linked
to the
conception
of
charity.
In fact,
to
forgive
someone
for the
practice
of some
evil, by
absolving
it in
its
entirety,
is one
of the
essences
of
charity,
as the
Superior
Spirits
have
explained
to us in
question
No. 866
of The
Book of
Spirits:
"What is
the true
meaning
of the
word
charity,
as Jesus
understands
it?
It means
benevolence
towards
all,
indulgence
towards
the
imperfections
of
others,
forgiveness
of
offenses".
Continuing
the
reflections
and
looking
at the
above
questions,
it seems
important
to
understand
that
forgiving
is not
forgetting
the
offense,
because
to
forget
something
in our
corporeal
life is
related
to our
mental
faculties,
that is,
with a
good or
bad
memory,
not
depending
on
simple
wanting
or not
wanting.
It is a
fact
that the
events
that
affect
us
emotionally
are more
strongly
engraved
in our
memory,
so that
forgetfulness,
in these
cases,
depends
much
more on
the
overcoming
of
emotional
factors
than on
our own
mental
faculties.
In fact,
the
forgetting
that
brings
us
closer
to
Divine
Laws is
that
which
derives
from
forgiveness,
that is,
it takes
place
after
the act
of
forgiveness,
which
does not
happen
immediately,
but by
means of
a
process
in
which,
first,
one
learns
to
forgive
the
offenses,
and then
to find
the
quarrels
completely
overcome,
to be
the
individual
capable
of
forgetting
them, as
if they
had
never
existed.
This is
the
constructive
process
of mercy
toward
our
enemies,
as Allan
Kardec
bequeathed
to us
in The
Gospel
according
to
Spiritism,
in
explaining
that
"mercy
is the
complement
of
meekness,
for
those
who are
not
merciful
are not
meek and
peaceful;
it
consists
in
forgetting
and
forgiving
offenses".
To
forget,
without
forgiveness,
is not a
virtue,
but an
indication
of some
memory
disorder.
To
forgive,
without
forgetting
the
offense,
on the
other
hand, is
a virtue
and the
surest
way to
achieve
merciful
oblivion,
the one
that is
not
linked
to the
fact
itself,
to the
offense
as a
reality
experienced
- which
is
neither
recommended
to be
truly
forgotten,
but to
oblivion
(in the
sense of
overcoming)
the evil
that has
been
done to
us,
which
must not
be
revived,
fed,
resented,
only to
be
remembered
as an
instrument,
a proof
or an
atonement,
which
allows
us to
find a
constructive
solution
of our
spiritual
evolution.
In other
words,
forgetting
the evil
suffered
by
forgiveness
is
different
from
forgetting
the
fact,
which is
nothing
more
than an
important
experience
for our
progress
as an
eternal
being
and,
more
often
than
not,
does not
need to
be
forgotten.
Likewise,
not
wanting
the
wrong to
the
offender
is not
forgiving,
but it
is part
of the
process
that
leads to
forgiveness,
because
there is
no way
to
forgive
someone
wishing
her
wrong.
Forgiveness
is an
act of
love,
therefore,
one must
not want
evil to
his
offender
so that
he can
truly
forgive
him.
On the
other
hand, to
love the
offender
is not,
by
itself,
to
forgive,
but
almost
always
results
from
forgiveness,
just as
forgetfulness
is very
difficult,
if not
impossible,
to love
someone
sincerely
when you
hold
your
grievances
and
resentments.
In these
cases,
indifference
turns
out to
be the
tonic,
which is
also not
compatible
with
forgiveness.
Loving
well, as
a rule,
is a
consequence
of
forgiveness
granted,
and the
unarmed
Spirit
of the
ego's
traps is
wounded
and
ready to
love
without
hindrance.
Allan
Kardec
points
out,
however,
that
true
forgiveness
is
unconditioned,
with
which we
must
agree. To
condone
forgiveness
to an
action,
to a
behavior,
to a
conduct
of the
offender
is not
to
forgive,
but to
humiliate,
diminish
and put
the
disaffection
as the
sole
culprit,
reversing
the
responsibility
for the
decision,
so that
forgiveness
would
depend
upon
him,
offender,
and not
upon the
offended
and
should
forgive
the
offense.
Unconditional
forgiveness
is the
only one
compatible
with the
teachings
of
Christ,
because
forgiving
is an
act of
love,
and love
is not
conditioned
to
anything,
rather
it is
free and
liberating,
without
limits,
without
beacons.
For the
act of
forgiving
has the
power to
free the
soul,
and not
only the
one who
is
forgiven
- who
frees
himself
from the
shackles
of guilt
(when he
feels
it) or
at least
experiences
the
noble
experience
of
forgiveness
in his
favor -
but
mainly
and
especially
of the
forgiver,
whose
Spirit
will be
free
from any
negative
feeling
and
ready to
follow
in his
march of
progress
and
evolution.
In this
sense,
forgiveness
is
undeniably
an act
of
extreme
charity,
which
comforts
the
forgiven
and
enlightens
the
forgiving.
An
important
aspect
to be
highlighted
is that
forgiveness,
like
every
act that
departs
from the
heart of
man, as
a
spiritual
being,
can and
must be
learned
and
exercised
during
the
different
experiences
in the
corporeal
plane,
becoming
a habit
that,
chiseled
by the
noblest
moral
values,
becomes
a
feeling,
incorporated
into the
Spirit
as a
perpetual
and
inviolable
moral
patrimony.
The way
was left
to us by
Christ,
in
teaching
us to
"love
God
above
all
things
and
neighbor
as you
love
yourself".
Is it
the
process
of
reflecting
on what
God
expects
of us,
the
forgiveness
or
maintenance
of pain
and
heartache?
What
would we
like to
receive
if we
were the
offender,
the
forgiveness
or the
resentment
and the
pain?
Forgiveness,
therefore,
is a
resolution
of the
heart,
born of
the
Spirit,
a
decision
to
overcome
the
hurts,
the
pains,
the
wounds,
to shake
the dust
and
throw
out all
the
filth
and
debris
of the
soul, in
order to
rebuild
a new
path, a
new
tomorrow,
based on
love and
mercy
for
others.
5.
Conclusion
The
teaching
of the
Christ
concerning
the love
of our
enemies
is
undoubtedly
one of
the rich
and most
important
of the
Gospel,
and
remains
unmistakably
present
and
universal,
like all
the
moral
teachings
of the
Gospel.
Of
course,
this
Christian
postulate
is not
restricted
only to
those
situations
in which
we are
faced
with
capital,
serious
and
bellicose
enmities,
but
also, in
the face
of all
the
antipathies,
malcontents,
misfortunes
and
sorrows
that we
dedicate
to
someone
else, or
even
cultivate
in
relation
to us,
which,
to a
greater
or
lesser
degree,
poisons
the soul
and
creates
an
environment
conducive
to
diseases
of the
Spirit
that
will
reflect
in the
physical
body.
Spiritism,
as a
scientific,
philosophical
and
religious
Doctrine,
has
greatly
contributed
to the
dissemination
and
better
understanding
of such
important
subjects
as the
present
one, in
begging
vital
lessons
of
Christian
morality,
especially
by the
works of
the
Codex
Allan
Kardec,
where we
find
explicit
clearly
that the
love of
God for
the love
of the
neighbor,
even the
enemy,
are the
two main
commandments
of the
Christ,
moral
definers
that
must
prevail
on our
planet,
on the
way to
the
World of
Regeneration.
In its
feature
of
Revived
Gospel,
Spiritism
revisits
the
teachings
of the
Christ
and
shows us
that
love, in
its
sublime
manifestations,
in the
form of
forgiveness
and
charity,
is the
true
transformer
of
souls,
which
enables
us to
see and
understand
our
enemies
as
brothers
and
sisters,
and our
problems
and
sufferings
as steps
of a
divine
ladder
that
allows
us to
elevate
the
Spirit
in the
direction
of the
possible
perfection
of our
human
condition.
Loving
our
neighbor
and our
enemies
is
therefore
a
personal
choice
and
Spiritism
calls us
to
decide
still
today,
beginning
at once
to pave
the way
for the
construction,
in the
soul, of
the
sublime
and
divine
love to
which we
are all
destined.
It is
not a
simple
and
difficult
journey,
but it
is up to
us
Spiritists
to raise
our
thoughts
to the
higher
spheres
with
humility
and
devotion
to God
and to
use love
as a
balm of
good and
charity
towards
our
neighbor.
Thus, if
"in the
beginning
was the
Word,
and the
Word was
with
God, and
the Word
was God"
(John,
I: 1),
Love is
the
Word,
and
living
in love
and
consecration
to
others
is an
inescapable
step to
all who
walk
towards
the
necessary
evolution
of the
Spirit.
The
author
is a
Police
Officer
in the
State of
São
Paulo. Professor
of the
Police
Academy
"Dr.
Coriolano
Nogueira
Cobra".
Professor
at the
University
Center
Anhanguera
Sao
Paulo -
Campos
Vila
Mariana. Teacher
in
preparatory
courses
for
public
tenders.
Postgraduate
in
Criminal
Law and
Criminal
Procedural
Law.
Student
of the
course
of
Spiritist
Doctrine
of the
Spiritist
Center
Nosso
Lar
Casas
Andre
Luiz.
