Page 92 - The Book of Rumi

God Will Not Punish Me

ne day as Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, was busy with his daily chores,
Oa friend he had not seen for a long time stopped by to have a cup of
tea. As they spoke about this and that, the man began to boast about his luck.
“I’ve committed countless sins in my life, but God never punishes me,
because He’s benevolent!” he said proudly.

Jethro was baffled and wondered why his friend had told him what he
had. Not long after, he had a revelation in which God spoke to him:
“Tell this unknowing man to stop claiming that I have not punished him
for his sins. It’s indeed the opposite! I have grabbed him and held him in my
hands many times, but he was completely incognizant of it. Tell him that he’s
become so tainted inside and out, like a blackened pot, that darkness no longer
has any effect on him. Patches of dirt are immediately apparent on a clean sur-
face; it’s the same with sin and the marks it leaves on the soul. Darkness fi rst
strikes at the inside and then reveals itself slowly on the outside.
“When someone’s whole being has been tainted through and through,
he’s unable to understand or even see that he’s only adding to his impurity
every day. One could of course repent and ask for forgiveness, and relief may
be forthcoming, but when one’s heart has been so irreparably tarnished, then
one has lost all predisposition for repentance.”
After hearing God’s words, Jethro repeated them to the man the next time
they met, hoping to convince him of his errant ways, but he was surprised
when the man replied good-naturedly: “So tell me, Jethro, if God has caught
me in his snare, then where are His signs?”
Jethro was exasperated and later confi ded in God that the poor soul did
not believe his words. God spoke kindly to Jethro, relieving him of his duty as
a messenger in this case.
“I’m the Master Concealer,” decreed God. “But I will not share my wis-
dom with this unconscious creature. I’ll tell you one thing, though, Jethro: it’s
true that this man is adamant about performing his prayers and fasting, and

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