204 HEAVEN and HELL §358
a. It often says in the Word that we will be judged and requited according to our deeds and works:
3934. “Deeds and works” in the Word do not mean deeds and works in their outward form but in
their inner form, because even evil people can do outwardly good deeds, while only good people
can do things that are good both outwardly and inwardly: 3934 , 6073. It is from our deeper levels,
which pertain to our thought and intent, that our works, like all actions, derive their reality, their
form, and their quality, because our works emanate from those levels; so the quality of the deeper
levels determines the quality of the works: 3934 , 8911 , 10331. This means they depend on the qual-
ity of our deeper levels in respect to love and faith: 3934 , 6073 , 10331 , 10333 [ 10332 ]. It also means
that our works contain these qualities and in fact are these qualities in practice: 10331. To be judged
and requited according to our deeds and works, then, is to be judged and requited according to
these qualities: 3147 , 3934 , 6073 , 8911 , 10331 – 10333. To the extent that our works focus on ourselves
and the world, they are not good—only as they focus on the Lord and our neighbor: 3147.
b. From love for oneself and for the world come all evils: 1307 , 1308 , 1321 , 1594 , 1691 , 3413 , 7255 ,
7376 , 7480 [ 7490 ], 7488 , 8318 , 9335 , 9348 , 10038 , 10742 ; which are contempt for others, hostility,
hatred, vengefulness, cruelty, and deceit: 6667 , 7372 [ 7370 ], 7373 , 7374 , 9348 , 10038 , 10742. We
are born into these loves, so our hereditary evils are in them: 694 , 4317 , 5660.because deeds have no meaning apart from these contents. Their quality
is wholly determined by them.a
We can see from this that our outer nature accomplishes nothing. It
is our inner nature, which gives rise to the outer.
Take, for example, people who behave honestly and do not cheat
others solely out of fear of the law and loss of reputation, leading to loss
of respect or profi t. If that fear did not restrain them, they would cheat
others as often as they could. Their thought and intent are fraudulent,
even though their actions look honest in outward form. Because they are
dishonest and fraudulent inwardly, they have hell within themselves. But
if people behave honestly and do not cheat others because this is against
God and against their neighbor, then even if they could cheat someone
they would not want to. Their thought and intent are their conscience,
and they have heaven within themselves. In outward form, the actions of
the two kinds look alike, but inwardly they are totally different.359 One person can live like another in outward form. As long as there is
an inward acknowledgment of the Deity and an intent to serve our
neighbor, we can become rich, dine sumptuously, live and dress as ele-
gantly as befi ts our station and offi ce, enjoy pleasures and amusement,
and meet our worldly obligations for the sake of our position and of our
business and of the life of both mind and body. So we can see that it is
not as hard to follow the path to heaven as many people believe. The
only diffi culty is fi nding the power to resist love for ourselves and love of
the world and preventing those loves from taking control, since they are
the source of all our evils.b The fact that it is not so hard as people believe
is what is meant by these words of the Lord: “Learn of me that I am