Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/1037

1037 "No one can serve two masters...."

August 5, 1939: Book 19

He who loves life creates death for himself, and he who willingly gives it up will live for eternity. After all, earthly life is only the preliminary stage for eternity, and if you don't want to give up earthly life then your love is still too focussed on earthly things and you cannot be happy with such love in your heart, you are unable to open your heart to the spiritual and therefore also unable to lead a spiritual life.... Yet spiritual life is the epitome of bliss. If you take a container that has become completely unusable and put water into it, your efforts to keep the water in it will be in vain.... Similarly, even the slightest resistance is an obstacle if the water is to be passed through the finest opening.... And now consider a heart fully turned towards earthly life.... It can still and still hear spiritual truths, they will not be able to remain in it, but will fade away without being heard. And in the same way, spiritual truth cannot penetrate the human heart if the entrance to it is blocked by obstacles, which are earthly temptations and attractions of the world. And again, without spiritual truths the human soul cannot mature, for the soul needs them as spiritual nourishment, whereas all earthly fulfilment is only food for the body. However, at death the body ceases to exist, thus only the soul is destined for life in eternity. This is now atrophied and almost lifeless if a person only loves earthly life and desires its fulfilment. "Whoever gives up his body out of love for Me will have eternal life, and not as the world gives you, so I give you...." These words of the lord give direction for life on earth. What you are to strive for cannot be compared to the pleasures of the world. You should not serve your body and fulfil every desire, for this body is passing away.... But if you sacrifice all the desires of the body to the lord and saviour.... if you put the physical life in the background and only think of the life of the soul on earth, heavenly joys will one day be prepared for you, and what you give will be repaid to you a thousandfold.... But if you believe that you can do both at the same time, if you believe that you can serve the world and at the same time provide spiritual nourishment for your soul, then the lord calls out to you: "No one can serve two masters...." He who turns to the earth and its lust does not find the way upwards; he who desires the world is the servant of him who tries to pull you down, and you cannot reach upwards and serve the lord God at the same time.... for you are then in contradiction to what you are supposed to do, both upwards and downwards. Spiritual progress requires the renunciation of everything worldly, and if you are placed in the position of being confronted with both and having to decide, then it is now your free will what you choose, however, it is never possible to reach a compromise and thus make a request to the heavenly father to approve of striving towards both sides.... The human being must decide of his own accord to choose the path upwards and give up the world, or to accept the downfall of his soul in the desire for the world and thus be lost for eternal life in glory. And that is why it is incomparably better to live in want on earth and forgo all earthly pleasures than to be eternally excluded from heavenly pleasure and bliss....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers