DOVES AND SERPENTS

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Matthew 10:16

Spiritually, serpents correspond to those who only believe in the material world of their senses. As a consequence, they are wise in the ways of the world; they are selfish and malicious. Doves are those who believe in spirit. And, as a consequence, they are selfless, loving and peaceful.

Therefore, it is not because we are selfless and harmless as doves that we should be fooled by those who are egotistical. As human beings, we have been endowed with reason and spiritual discernment. So, we should use our intelligence to avoid those who use malice, trickery and lies.

The serpents of the world can recognize those who are selfless and loving and they find malicious ways to take advantage of their kindness. 

Love is freedom. Therefore we should let others be egotistical, self-righteous, malicious and cruel if that is their choice. But this does not mean that we should let ourselves be deceived by their crooked ways.

Serpents tend to prey on those who are fearful and innocent. But, when we understand the Truth, we know there is no reason to be fearful and we are filled with spiritual courage. These same serpents turn away when they detect a soul that is courageous and filled with Truth and Love.

SHEEP IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES

"The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."John 10:25

Sheep correspond to innocence and wolves to self-love and love of the world. The sheep listen and follow their shepherd. And the shepherd is the "I AM" that is within their own being.

Now, some people think that sheep are stupid and afraid. But, in fact, sheep are intelligent because they know that they have and are nothing of themselves. All that they are and have is from the Love and Wisdom of the Shepherd.

Selfishness is an indication of ignorance. Wolves only believe in the material world. As a consequence, they think that their good can only come from the world. And so, they use malice, force and cruelty to satisfy their natural desires. 

The innocence of wisdom is genuine innocence, because it is internal, for it belongs to the mind itself, that is, to the will itself and from that to the understanding. And when there is innocence in these there is also wisdom, for wisdom belongs to the will and understanding. This is why it is said in heaven that innocence has its abode in wisdom, and that an angel has just so much of innocence as he has of wisdom. This is confirmed by the fact that those who are in a state of innocence attribute nothing of good to themselves, but regard all things as received and ascribe them to the Lord; that they wish to be led by Him and not by themselves; that they love everything that is good and find delight in everything that is true, because they know and perceive that loving what is good, that is, willing and doing it, is loving the Lord, and loving truth is loving the neighbor; that they live contented with their own, whether it be little or much, because they know that they receive just as much as is good for them-those receiving little for whom a little is useful, and those receiving much for whom much is useful; also that they do not themselves know what is good for them, the Lord alone knowing this, who looks in all things that He provides to what is eternal.

[2] Neither are they anxious about the future; anxiety about the future they call care for the morrow, which they define as grief on account of losing or not receiving things that are not necessary for the uses of life. With companions they never act from an evil end but from what is good, just, and sincere. Acting from an evil end they call cunning,which they shun as the poison of a serpent, since it is wholly antagonistic to innocence. As they love nothing so much as to be led of the Lord, attributing all things they receive to Him, they are kept apart from what is their own [proprium]; and to the extent that they are kept apart from what is their own the Lord flows into them; and in consequence of this whatever they hear from the Lord, whether through the Word or by means of preaching, they do not store up in the memory, but instantly obey it, that is, will it and do it, their will being itself their memory. These for the most part outwardly appear simple, but inwardly they are wise and prudent. These are meant by the Lord in the words, Be ye prudent as serpents and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Emanuel Swedenborg