7. At that time Jesus answered and said: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (Matthew, 11: 25).
8. It may appear quite singular that Jesus gives thanks to God for having revealed these things to the simple and humble, who are the poor in spirit, and for having hidden them from the learned and prudent; who apparently are more able to understand. But we must recognise that the former are those who are submissive, who humble themselves before God and do not consider themselves superior. The latter are those who are arrogant, full of pride for their worldly knowledge, judging themselves prudent because they deny God or who, when they are not refusing to accept Him, treat Him as an equal despite the fact that in ancient times learned was a synonym for wise. This is why God has left them to discover the secrets of the Earth and revealed the secrets of Heaven only to the humble, who prostrate themselves before Him.
9. The same thing has happened today with the great truths revealed by Spiritism. Many of those who are incredulous are surprised by the fact that the Spirits take so little trouble to convince them. The reason for this being that it is preferable to look after those who seek with good faith and humility, rather than offer enlightenment to those who suppose they already possess it; who perhaps imagine that God should be very thankful for having managed to attract their attention by proving His existence to them.
The power of God manifests itself in all things, from the smallest to the greatest. He does not hide His light, but rather disperses it in constant waves to every corner of the Universe, to such an extent that only those who are blind do not see. God does not wish their eyes to be opened by force, seeing that they desire to keep them shut. Their time will come. But first it is necessary that they feel the anguish of darkness and so recognise it is the Divinity and not mere chance which hurts their pride. In order to overcome this incredulity, God uses the most convenient means according to each individual. It is not their incredulity that prescribes what is to be done, nor is it up to them to say: "If you want to convince me, then you must do this or that on a certain occasion because this is what could persuade me." Therefore those who are unbelievers should not be surprised if neither God nor the Spirits who execute His wishes, do not submit to these demands. Instead, they should ask themselves what they would say if the lowest of their servants tried to impose upon them in whatever form. God imposes the conditions and does not accept those who wish to impose conditions on Him. He listens kindly to those who direct themselves to Him with humility and not to those who judge themselves greater than He.
10. It is often asked if God could not touch these people personally by means of clearly evident manifestations before which even the most obstinate unbeliever would be convinced. Beyond all doubt He could. But in this case what merit would be gained and more importantly, what use would it be? Do we not see people every day who do not bow down even before such evidence and who say: "Even if I saw I would not believe because I know it is impossible"? If they deny truth in such a manner it is because their spirits have not yet reached sufficient maturity to enable them to understand, nor their hearts to feel it. Pride is the cataract which covers their vision. What good does it do to show a light to one who is blind? Rather it is first necessary to cure the cause of the ill. This is why, as a skilful doctor, He first of all punishes their pride. He will never abandon any of His children since sooner or later their eyes will be opened, but He wishes this to happen of their own free-will. Then defeated by the torments of incredulity, they will throw themselves of their own accord into His arms, begging to be forgiven just as the prodigal son did.
- Allan Kardec.
Excerpted from Chapter VII - Blessed are the poor in spirit - of "The Gospel according to Spiritism" - Allan Kardec.
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