No one will have missed it: This year marked the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Luther's theses. It was so important for our government that Reformation Day was even made a national holiday this year. Because what should we learn from Luther? That morality can successfully rebel against the greatest powers.
The Church's sale of indulgences fueled this protest and created Protestantism. How convenient it was to be able to sin and then wash oneself clean of all guilt in exchange for a payment! And it was also convenient for the church: selling printed slips of paper is an easy way to "make money".
And ... what has happened since then? Well, one thing is clear: we have not abolished the sale of indulgences. On the contrary, it has become the norm. For many, parking in a no-parking zone is a mathematical consideration: torture yourself in a parking garage and then walk to your appointment, or simply park directly on the street? It only costs 15 euros. Or: driving 60 km/h in a 30 km/h zone to get to the appointment faster? Oh, that's only a few euros, so put your foot on the gas! Not to mention selling indulgences in court or in politics.
Money excuses almost everything, doesn't it? Sin, then pay, and everything is good again. - That's the modern indulgence trade, that we have all created. The only difference is that the church is no longer quite as clearly involved as it was back then.
It's the intention that counts!
I recently spoke with Rupert Sheldrake, who researches morphogenetic fields, and he said that the surface of a behavior is not interesting. Only the underlying intention is important. So if you want to wash your guilt away with a letter of indulgence or a parking ticket you've bought, you're lying to yourself from the outset. It's like someone stepping on your foot in a department store, then simply walking on and mumbling "sorry". (See also my article Stop the inflationary apologizing!)
Do we want to live in a world like that? In a world where parents beat and torture and then say, here you have more pocket money and everything is fine? A world in which mismanagement and bullying are "compensated" with pay rises?
On some restrooms there is a sign: "Leave this place the way you want to find it." What could our lives be like if we applied this saying to our daily lives?
How nice it is to wake up in the morning and know: I live in a country where there is peace. Or to have people who love me. Or colleagues with whom I can work together on a better solution - and not on my ego.
So: let go of the ego - the soul will be happy, and the world with it!