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being good; nevertheless they are a reward, inasmuch as service is one of the steps that lead up to the place where all the fullness of God awaits men. And while spiritual understanding is in reality a "gift of God," it comes to us more or less quickly in proportion as we use the light that we already have. I believe that too much introspection, too much of what people usually call "spiritual seeking," is detrimental rather than helpful to the end desired --- spiritual growth. Spiritual seeking is a sort of spiritual selfishness, paradoxical as this may seem. From the beginning to the end, Jesus taught the giving of what one possesses to him who has none.

"Is not this the fast that I choose:" said the Spirit of God through the prophet Isaiah, "to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free ...? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them ...? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly .... Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer ... Here I am....

"If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your