This above all: to thine own self be true…
In case you are not familiar with the plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, let me set it out briefly for you. Hamlet discovers the death of his father was at the hands of his father’s brother and his mother was also guilty before, during and after the fact. She conspired to kill her husband, allow his brother ascend to the throne in order to marry her brother-in-law. I said all this to say, among the conspirators was the kings prime minister (or counselor) Polonius. His son Laertes was about to embark on an journey to a distant kingdom. Polonius called him aside to give him some fatherly advice.
In Act I, scene iii of Hamlet, the character of Polonius prepares his son Laertes for travel abroad with a speech in which he directs the youth to commit a “few precepts to memory.” Among these percepts is the now-familiar adage…”neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend. And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry…” and the dictum: “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day; thou cans’t not be false to any man ”
Now let us deal with reality; had Polonius followed his own advice that seemed imperative for him to pass on to his son he could have stopped one of the greatest tragedies the world has ever known wherein he and his son died by the sword as well as halted the assassination of the king of Denmark. In addition Polonius’ daughter Ophelia, would not have been driven insane and committed suicide and Hamlet himself as well would not have been heinously murdered.
I am always amazed that there are millions who see enactments of Hamlet or read the play who do not know God nor Jesus other than by name who are outraged by the lack of fairness or justice in it all and are filled with self righteousness indignation! Yet they see no inequity in wanting to do away with God in their every day life and all memory of Him erased from society! “We were opposed to morality (God) because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”1 — Aldous Huxley.
There is a sermon in this circumstance about situations that play themselves out everyday in the world and have since Adam sinned and Cain murdered Abel.
Just as there was in Adam the ability to say NO to Eve concerning the forbidden fruit;2 there is in every man the capability to kill, commit mayhem, pillage, rape and murder his fellow man who is in the way of his personal pleasure and supposed well fare and well being.
Until there is a true realization of the evil possible in the heart of every human being, particularly within himself, it is doubtful that a man has ever understood the utterly odiousness or wickedness of sin and fully confessed. The possibility that every man and/or woman has in his/her heart the possibility to commit heinous acts such as Jeffery Dahmer and Charles Manson did it is doubtful that person really understands the depth of the sacrifice God the Father and Jesus Christ made for him.
The Apostle Paul expresses it this way “He who knew no sin was made sin for us!” “ He took upon himself the sins of us all!” What more could God have done for his creatures? The cross was not punishment for Christ’s sins but ours or did he do it in sympathy for us! Until it is understood “my” sins hung Jesus on the cross and the love of God took them upon Himself it is not understood at all.
1 The Sanhedrin’s excuse for crucifying Christ “they (the Romans) will come and take away our place”
2 Genesis 1: 31; And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
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