Walking the Razor
© 2015 Scott D. Wilson,P.Eng.
“The pathway to salvation is as narrow and as difficult to walk as a razor's edge.” — W. Somerset Maugham from “The Razor's Edge.”
I need to confess, I have a love for a picture that bombed in the theatres back in 1984. It was a movie starring Bill Murray in an adaption of Somerset Maugham’s “The Razor’s Edge.” I enjoyed this film and its message when I first saw it back in 1984, and the cinematography is stunning. I personally believed that it bombed because general audiences wanted to see the standard Bill Murray firing off jokes and making wisecracks. This is not really that kind of film. Somerset Maugham delves deeply into the worlds of materialism and spirituality. To that end I believe that Bill Murray remained quite true to Maugham’s vision. Unfortunately, a great deal of Maugham’s thoughts and conclusions are quite hard for many people to swallow.
I encourage folks to read Maugham’s book and to see the film. The Razor’s Edge struggles with the concepts of good and evil, cause and consequence, actions and rewards. I like the brutally honest answer that the main character delivers in a few short lines:
“When Piedmont died, I had to pay him back for my life. I found out there's another debt to pay — for the privilege of being alive. I thought Sophie was my reward for trying to live a good life. Uh uh. There is no payoff — not now.”
Western thinking, whether spiritual or physical, is frequently unconsciously caught up in the concept of investment and return. We work hard expecting that effort to pay off. Those who pursue spiritual matters usually expect to be rewarded with peace of mind and life with less conflict and strife. We are always expecting the scales to balance in our lifetime. Reality is far less predictable and reliable. And so we alternately enjoy and suffer with the dualities of pleasure, pain, toil and reward, love and fear. As Maugham’s character so aptly puts it, there is not necessarily a “payoff — not now.”
This thought disappoints most of us. If we make sacrifices now and try our best to be ‘good’ then there needs to be a reward, now, in this life. While this may frequently be true it is certainly not a guarantee and we should realize this fact. Additionally, we are mostly oblivious to the underlying selfishness of this expectation. Many noble people did what was right and correct and it cost them everything, including their lives. They were not expecting to reap the rewards of their actions. They did not do right because it was of benefit to themselves. They chose to act correctly because doing right transcends time and space. Doing right serves something far greater than give and take, action and reward. These brave folks were aware that their actions would resonate out beyond their own personal existence into the future and onward towards eternity.
I can see how this thought may distress many people. Justice seems cheated. Those who reap do not seem to sow. Similarly, this is offensive to rationalistic materialists enjoyment of science’s premise of cause and effect. Meanwhile, spiritualists will generally take comfort in the belief of an afterlife for their rewards. I do not seek to clear this matter for either point of view. Currently none can truly know with certainty what may or may not transcend their lifespan.
I would hope that those with a rational scientific mindset would allow their egos to ebb and perform the mental calculations to see that doing right without personal reward can serve the future and their fellow man. And the spiritualists should likewise let go of the mindset that is entitled to compensation. I would not like to meet my Creator with the selfish expectation that my righteousness was motivated solely for my own benefit, avoiding punishment or to gain reward.
When good happens were should rejoice and enjoy it. When ill befalls this world we should mourn and take actions against it. As long as time flies forward, both good and evil will remain temporary states. My original quote comes from a monk seeking to caution Maugham’s main character. Another wise One once similarly warned that “…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The wealthy are most heavily invested in the concept of investment and return, and so they become robbed of an eternal perspective.
Life has taught me that it is of great importance to do what is good but it is of far greater importance to sincerely do it for the correct reasons. Look neither for reward nor punishment. Choose to do what is correct regardless of the outcome. Free from the fear of penalties and the lure of compensation, if we do not get caught up in our own ego we might find that walking the razor’s edge to salvation is just that much easier.
