Soul Debts

A debt is "that which is owed or due, anything (as money, goods, or service) which one person is under obligation to pay or render to another."

“Be responsible for all your debts, past and present;
pay all your debts now.”—Edna Lister

Soul debts fall under the great law of action and reaction, cause and effect. In Oriental philosophies and religions, universal indebtedness is called karma. We classify creating and paying soul debts under the laws of doing. Soul debt is a burden of honor and discharging it is an initiation.

Although you usually contract soul debts through contact with others, you never owe them a debt. You owe the law, the balance scales of justice. Should you injure another without malice of forethought, law will credit it as an accident, despite what the injured party thinks or believes. If you act in negligence, disregard, willfulness or deliberate malice, law will judge you in the exact measure you have meted.

An injured party may not demand or collect payment for a soul debt, or law credits his desire as revenge. The injured one will receive recompense through the law; however, it may be delayed or arrive in an unexpected or perhaps unrelated way.

Some contract debts in other ways, cruelty to animals, environmental destruction, or arson, for example. In such cases, this law applies: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."—Matthew 25:40.

Edna Lister on Soul Debts

Confusion reigns when the petty traits of self come to the fore. When you live by the Christ laws, then all is well. When you will forgive all debtors first, then truth will rise into great prominence and glory. If even one soul refuses to forgive debtors first, just that long will the whole earth have debts to pay. Therefore, be the first to forgive all debts and to release Light.—Edna Lister, July 29, 1938.

Some pay their debts in outer tears because they are disobedient. If they let the law do the work, they would be less "hurt."—Edna Lister, November 24, 1938.

An unruly tongue that exalts your ego will trip you into further debts to law.—Edna Lister, December 16, 1938.

Decide now to "pay as you go," at least on the inside, though you don’t achieve it perfectly on the outside.—Edna Lister, December 26, 1938.

Law requires that you redeem all the darkness, pay the spiritual debts that the little self has created, and assume responsibility for all past actions. The place you occupy now is one that you, yourself have chosen. Never blame anyone for what happens to you, but always send forth Light to lift and overcome all disharmony. Accept your place as your kingdom and become fully responsible to lift it.—Edna Lister, January 2, 1939.

While following the laws of life for guidance, the answers you receive to your "whys" will amaze you. Light will uncover and reveal the answers, while strength in plenty will come to you, if you plant your feet firmly on the one Path. If you sidestep, woe is yours, for you redouble darkness to lift. You then must pay three times the soul debts incurred by disobeying law. Do not work it out the hard way. You need not pay debts so. Let Shekinah glory move through you as joy to finish paying all soul debts, while you receive a redoubled blessing of added things hourly. Make it pay you as greatly in ascension as may be, and who knows how great this may be?—Edna Lister, May 6, 1941.

The "dweller on the threshold of consciousness" embodies your spiritual debts, which you have endowed with life for centuries.—Edna Lister, June 30, 1941.

You have been given truth in small doses, as much as you could possibly contain, which you must accept. If it spills over, you incur the debt of redeeming it. If you speak illegally or out of place, you are responsible for the world’s reactions to that truth until the vibration is spent and those reactions cease, like a stone cast into water. Therefore, the rule is to speak softly, walk gently, use wise speech and maintain golden silence. You defend principle, but do not reveal the mysteries.—Edna Lister, July 3, 1941.

As you melt the crust of opinion and prejudice from mind and heart, memory reveals the associated debt. As you pray, you shed a load of the past. Do not fear, condemn or indulge in disgust of self, since you must cleanse all past soul debt.—Edna Lister, April 16, 1942.

Blaming others for where you are is the cause of demotion and delay in your life. The cure is to give up everything instead of holding parts of your self back from your surrender, to finish quickly learning that "everything is really good and very good." Finish this where you are now, for your old soul debt anchors you there.—Edna Lister, October 28, 1942.

You must earn everything that God advances to you. Debts must be paid.—Edna Lister, November 11, 1942.

All must fully garner experience, and must pay any unfinished debts on the outer to be free.—Edna Lister, November 18, 1942.

You can pay a debt by releasing enough love to fill the void you had created. Enough love wipes away all debts.—Edna Lister, December 1, 1942.

Many souls are now working out debts, thoughts and inner hidden pictures of self-pity and self-worship from centuries past and this lifetime. Search the secret rooms in your heart and make sure that you don’t unconsciously entertain some hidden guest.—Edna Lister, January 4, 1943.

Do not seek the causes for your debts, but pay gladly and abundantly.—Edna Lister, February 18, 1943.

Pay all your debts as you go.—Edna Lister, June 30, 1944.

Idle curiosity is the greatest waste of time and causes the largest debt to pay.—Edna Lister, July 14, 1944.

You owe all debts to the law. You can pay a soul debt only by sacrifice of some element of the self to God, to the Master or to some person. Pay whatever debt you have accumulated since you descended from the Source. As you choose to pay by great sacrifice on earth and the inner, doors stand open before you. On earth you can make sacrifice for your debts and those of others to a certain point. For example, you may sacrifice by loving the unlovable with the love of God for God to pay the debt. Love will pay all, but you must assume personal responsibility and desire to ascend.—Edna Lister, August 3, 1944.

Love enough will pay all debts you owe to the law.—Edna Lister, October 16, 1944.

As a teacher, you must pay the debts associated with any student who has misused what you taught him. If a single phrase is inverted even inadvertently, it can cause untold debt.—Edna Lister, October 26, 1944.

"Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I AM known."—1 Corinthians 13:12. When you step into earth’s oblivion, you cannot see clearly, but "through a glass darkly." You forget past lives, your experiences and where your loyalties lay. You recall just enough vaguely to work out your soul debts. What you give to others lifts your own debts. Use your God-given faculties for every experience—honor, loyalty, logic, reasoning, discrimination, discretion and discernment. Follow law until the veils of illusion fall away.—Edna Lister, November 1, 1944.

You cannot pay your debts except by releasing Light, love and joy. Never think yourself so perfect that you could have come through all the taints of earth without ever being touched. Think. Are you above the Master Jesus when he lashed the moneychangers? Are you more perfect than he?—Edna Lister, November 1, 1944.

Use all experiences and paying debts as a footstool on which to stand while reaching for the stars. All past knowledge is just enough to teach you that you do not know anything—use it as wisdom to reach, reach, reach.—Edna Lister, November 1, 1944.

You must pay the debts you owe even when God works it together for the good of all. The full Light of pure love renders evil and darkness impotent. Pay your debts by releasing Light, love, and joy into the lives of those involved.—Edna Lister, November 1, 1944.

You find the same old shadows of self on every new level. Burn the past husks, bit by bit, to lift all debts from each soul involved.—Edna Lister, November 10, 1944.

When you feel that you do not deserve whatever it is, then know that it is because of your vows to help lift the world spiritual debt, and you are helping to lift those who bring it to you. Bless them and love them! They are your stepping stones to your own great place and life.—Edna Lister, November 30, 1944.

"Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."—James 2:10. If you break one small law, you pay a debt to all laws.—Edna Lister, December 7, 1944.

You can set soul debt aside by lifting it and working on it in prayer and self-discipline. Otherwise, you must work it out with people and events in your life.—Edna Lister, January 1, 1945.

You can pay your soul debts by freely giving of time, effort and money, never seeing darkness, but with a song of joy, a compassionate, understanding love from the heart, and with no thoughts of self.—Edna Lister, January 24, 1945.

An original law of the universe is the freedom of choice to express for the purpose of learning and to unfold the soul faculties for wisdom. God does not smite you for experimenting, if the experience teaches. If not, you pay a debt. When you deliberately go through the experience often, you create a vastly greater soul debt, fifty-eight years of debt for each repetition.—Edna Lister, April 6, 1945.

Everyone must pay for his own disobedience to law, but when you blame, you pay your debt and the other fellow’s also.—Edna Lister, April 13, 1945.

You take on the debt when you make excuses for another. Lift it without comment. Appetitive soul, the self, wants to "mention" the person or event, but talking about it creates a debt. Pay your debts, and remember that you are paying fancy prices.—Edna Lister, July 4, 1945.

The Master’s Path is a long, continued struggle with the lower self, the appetitive soul, until all soul debts are paid in full. Then, unless you are constantly watchful, you can slip back into a worse state than before, causing even greater debts to be paid than in the past.—Edna Lister, July 10, 1945.

For any unworthy act, thought, etc., that you hide from the Light, you then must assume the soul debts of all others in the world who have hidden such taints. No excuse, justification or explanation is ever legal once you have sworn to ascend.—Edna Lister, July 11, 1945.

You contract heavy soul debts, which follow you from life to life, when you break law. To use any of the soul powers gained through exceeding high vows made under deep travail of soul while vowing to serve only God forever, is illegal, unlawful and contracts a great debt. When another assumes your debt, the only aid you can give is by constant prayer for her release.—Edna Lister, July 19, 1945.

People use force and create mountains of soul debts when just a word and a prayer would turn the dictators of the world into lambs.– Edna Lister, July 31, 1945.

This is the hard, straight Path of the Masters, with no steps in it. You must hew each step from the ice of your past soul debts, like solid rock. That is why they call this the hard Way.—Edna Lister, July 31, 1945.

Practice love for one another, which is compassion for, and a desire to cover the frailties of others in Light, the desire to pay the debts of others, the desire to see only and believe only good—love, love, love releases Power.—Edna Lister, April 8, 1946.

You may not pay a debt in a way that will involve another person—or that will keep you from releasing Power.—Edna Lister, December 2, 1946.

No one pays only his own debts. Each helps all others, for one person’s paid debt releases the bound soul substance of many to aid them in building new health, business, or opening doors to high and heavenly places.—Edna Lister, February 7, 1947.

To pay all debts means to carry the load of all blame, all burdens, never seeking for self, never asking credit. It means a complete silence about self, a quiet, constant working to perfect the soul and letting go of all else, with no possession of either people or things.—Edna Lister, March 5, 1947.

Every initiation opens a new basement and the Power seems to decline. With these initiations, you are paying off soul debt, the memory of which you carry in the solar plexus. But the debt’s substance is released as the memory comes through.—Edna Lister, April 7, 1947.

The kingdom of heaven is open to all believers. We all advance with equal rights to become whatever we choose to be. No one is excluded, yet each must pay his soul debts—no exceptions.—Edna Lister, May 26, 1947.

The only way to pay a debt is to act as if it were your last good act on earth, even when you know the results will be neutral.—Edna Lister, August 24, 1947.

No soul debt accrues where true love is the basis for a love-relationship.—Edna Lister, August 24, 1947.

Many rest out their credits, never look at the spiritual debt clock, and must incarnate again. Everyone who goes over must either incarnate when their stored credits run out, or go to work.—Edna Lister, November 24, 1947.

You bring the memories of all your past lives with you, and are then tempted on pride, intolerance, seeking rewards, or whatever taints your record contains. When an old idea of self arises, bigotry for example, it brings the old debt due for payment, and hounds you mentally and physically till you pay it. This has nothing to do with your goodness. When this comes up, you either remain united in Light with your soul, or you fall into the darkness of self. The only time you know this is it is when it smells "loud" enough.—Edna Lister, June 3, 1948.

God does not punish anyone, but every soul must pay his or her soul debts. Ignorance is the last excuse to offer. You must lift all your misdeeds that have affected others, and bring the memory record into the Light. Otherwise, the secrecy remains an ever heavier burden of guilt. In such cases, open confession to God is good for the soul.—Edna Lister, June 12, 1948.

Whenever you pass a great initiation, you open a new incarnation, bringing the accompanying spiritual debts with it.—Edna Lister, The Twelve Tribes, June 22, 1948.

If a soul uses force, it kicks back clouds of spiritual debt almost more than the soul can bear.—Edna Lister, July 4, 1948.

A sense of possession of another soul is a type of vampirism. Idiocy is often a case of paying the debt or this.—Edna Lister, July 11, 1949.

Watch yourself on criticism. Criticism pays the other fellow’s debts and he gets credit for advance in the initiations you take and pass. You carry him through!—Edna Lister, July 13, 1949.

If you believe you can rise above the stars, and pour the white Light of the Christ on your debts to pay them, you will. It takes an absolute conviction that you can, and you do it.—Edna Lister, August 4, 1949.

If you stand in the Light, you will only pay debts of necessity, no debts but those you create.—Edna Lister, November 20, 1949.

Man’s law says you cannot move to another city without paying your bills, and you cannot ascend without first paying your spiritual debts and becoming correspondingly lighter.—Edna Lister, March 27, 1950.

How could the Father redeem a planet with a load of spiritual debt such as Hitler and Stalin created unless metaphysical teachers and creators came to play the role of sacrifice by following the Master? God cannot clean up man’s messes — He cannot set aside principle and law, because He has given us freedom of choice. God has sent the dirt of the universes to our planet and has sent His strong sons and daughters to clean it up.

You clean up not only your own soul debts, but take a share of the world debt, too. You may not be personally responsible for this debt, but you accept because you have taken personal vows in heaven to gird up your loins and lift. If you whine even once, you are under the roller. The more humane and altruistic you are, the greater the personal vows you made before coming to earth.—Edna Lister, March 27, 1950.

Be responsible for all your debts, past and present, and pay all debts now.—Edna Lister, August 10, 1950.

Everyone is ascending, at least partially. Sometimes you recognize your soul debts and help another, or you don’t see and may withhold aid. The Christos Degree work includes helping the other fellow lift, no matter what. When you lift soul debts, you integrate these efforts with the Seven Degrees of Ascension.—Edna Lister, October 2, 1950.

Recognition means to accept anything negative as yours to handle, to lift, to declare it good. Repentance is the secret of returning to God to dwell in the high place of consciousness. Then love will move out through you and pay your soul debts.—Edna Lister, October 3, 1950.

You can pay soul debts with brothers, sisters, parents, etc. Sometimes you incarnate with a family group solely to pay debts.—Edna Lister, October 5, 1950.

You have so many lessons to learn in paying your soul debts and keeping your vows. What does it matter how much you must pay? Or how? Or where? Only the self wants to know, and evade the responsibility.—Edna Lister, March 6, 1951.

Cut the roots of negative thinking and emotions and pay your soul debts.—Edna Lister, June 4, 1951.

You must remember three steps when you pay debts: First, gird up your loins. Second, permit no laziness. Third, do it yourself without waiting for others to help, and finally, conquer the self.—Edna Lister, To Seek the Light, June 10, 1951.

Never charge a debt of blame against one who tries to hurt you. If you push him out of your life, he will always try to climb back into the nest.—Edna Lister, To Seek the Light, June 10, 1951.

To achieve the divine, you must live by the cross of service. "X" symbolizes crossing out darkness, paying soul debts and creating no further debts. Soul debt is under the great principle of action and reaction, cause and effect. Whatever you send out, positive or negative, must return to you. If you send out Light, it accumulates beneficially. When you, who are of Light, send out any darkness, it returns a thousandfold. The higher you ascend in consciousness into the Light, the quicker your slightest indiscretion returns. This answers, "Why does this happen to me?"

When you are of Light and send out Light, only Light returns with interest. If you feel an underlying current of sorrow and grief without a conscious cause, you are not in our own place in Light; your soul is saying that you have not ascended by paying your debts. When you kick against the pricks, you are telling God that you have closed the door against paying your soul debts. If you have not agreed and adjusted, you may refuse to tie your earth to heaven, a big mistake. Those who refuse to tie earth to heaven become destructive iconoclasts.—Edna Lister, Be-Attitudes, June 12, 1951.

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."—Matthew 6:34 means sufficient unto that day are the debts you must pay.—Edna Lister, Be-Attitudes, June 12, 1951.

You pay half a person’s soul debts when you teach him law.—Edna Lister, June 14, 1951.

You are responsible for your own spiritual debts, but when you cannot pay a debt all at once, it is added to the world’s debt. The Elect assume responsibility for lifting spiritual debt. It is impossible to pay all your debts at once in one lifetime — they include every negative word ever spoken.—Edna Lister, June 17, 1951.

Joy pays soul debts.—Edna Lister, Be-Attitudes, June 19, 1951.

A Judas is a betrayer, someone who is frustrated by paying his soul debts that he acts on others to anger them into paying his share.—Edna Lister, July 15, 1951.

Never say, "I won’t do that," because then you must do it. You have spoken a challenge to bring your debt right down on your head.—Edna Lister, Prove Me Now, October 28, 1951.

Lift what belongs to you, your share of past darkness in the world’s soul debts. Any darkness within you will come out, but glory lies ahead. When your family and loved ones pick at your pin feathers of past taints and debts, it leaves them naked in the Light, too. Do not look back to worship yesterday; just kneel before the altar and repent. The Father knows how deeply your repentance goes, so do not talk about it. Release enough love and Power to wash away your offense. Say, "Let Light fill the past, to wipe every page clean," so declaring it good.—Edna Lister, November 12, 1951.

When you lift your soul debts, you can still make new debts, but nothing from the past can color you with dark smudges unless you permit it.—Edna Lister, November 19, 1951.

Pray to wipe yesterday’s page clean to redeem soul substance, but remember that each must pay his own debts.—Edna Lister, I AM THAT I AM, November 25, 1951.

Seeking advice, as instructed, redeems past force and darkness so you can lift all soul debts.—Edna Lister, January 4, 1952.

Criticism is a contraction of consciousness. Moving up in love expands consciousness. When you descend in consciousness and criticize, you pay the other fellow’s debts. For example, nearly the whole nation is paying Senator Joe McCarthy’s debts by criticizing and condemning him.—Edna Lister, June 2, 1952.

The "wrath of God" refers to soul debt. The angel has poured out the seventh vial of wrath to atone for misusing law, and it is returning as spiritual debt throughout the world.—Edna Lister, October 5, 1952.

God cannot forgive you if you charge a debt of blame to yourself or another.—Edna Lister, October 23, 1952.

Law works inevitably to build situations of experience in which you may learn your lessons and pay your debts with interest when you dare make demands on another.—Edna Lister, December 15, 1952.

When someone cannot hold fast to the pure white Light of the Christ, he may think he prays, but drops back to the Adept Degree. First he loses his high, fervent point, then he cannot hold high consciousness. Finally, he forgets former revelations and what revelations are. Worse, he may become less responsible, and lose his sense of responsibility not to build greater spiritual debt. This is tragic, but a divine protection, otherwise, he could charge greater debts than he can pay.—Edna Lister, May 28, 1953.

No two individuals will have the same soul debts, for the roots of their problems will be different.—Edna Lister, Closed Prophecies, June 9, 1953.

How dare you declare someone a sinner and charge a double debt, to him and to yourself? Jesus forgave sins, so must you.—Edna Lister, Gifts and Giving, June 14, 1953.

Angels are ready to shovel your debts onto the altar for lifting. However, thinking that you can set your own punishments and wallow in them is a point of self-flattery. What you create by looking into the past trips you and creates new debts. You can easily handle past debts through prayer. Just to love God enough pays the debt.—Edna Lister, June 15, 1953.

Bow to heavenly needs, not to ungodly earth contracts. You are here to pay debts of necessity, not to make contracts to be broken later.—Edna Lister, July 6, 1953.

A deathbed repentance may relieve pressure, but does not pay the spiritual debts. God charges the debt to the one who builds the vibration of darkness. He credits the account of the one who lifts without recreating more darkness.—Edna Lister, Surrender and Transfiguration, July 12, 1953.

Small soul debts can quickly accumulate into one large debt to pay.—Edna Lister, November 18, 1953.

You can’t wipe out a debt by simply saying, "I forgive you," but must cover it with love; that is the law.—Edna Lister, From Surrender to Ascension, January 15, 1954.

You don’t need to wade in and get wet and muddy while you lift old spiritual debts.—Edna Lister, February 20, 1954.

When you slip in consciousness and criticize, you pay the other fellow’s soul debts. For instance, you may recognize certain things about Senator Joe McCarthy, but only for lifting. He has served as an initiator to the nation, most of whom are now busy paying his debts through their criticism of him. I wonder how many people who are moaning, "O, what have I done to deserve this," are paying McCarthy’s debts. God is using all his detractors for this purpose.—Edna Lister, March 29, 1954.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—Matthew 6:34. Law apportions your debts for each day’s prayers to cover. You can turn each day’s debt into a well-learned experience-lesson and added law by standing immovable on your chosen goal.—Edna Lister, Your Life’s Goal, May 30, 1954.

In seeking an easier life, you close the door paying spiritual debts, but they will be due next time, double, for past lives and this.—Edna Lister, Your Life’s Goal, May 30, 1954.

Law always presents a soul debt in love three times. If you accept it willingly, lovingly and happily, Light can lift it. However, if you repudiate the debt, you must do it over again. When you find yourself saying, "I had to learn this the hard way," you have missed the boat three times. Missing the mark in lifting means your opportunities may go to the next in line in chronological soul age.—Edna Lister, The Fire Body, July 6, 1954.

When you cry about your mistakes in self-judgment, you create a double debt because you involve your Father in paying.—Edna Lister, July 19, 1954.

Never involve anyone’s name in criticizing anything anytime in any way or for any reason, lest you charge a debt of blame. To say, "I know I AM right," then involves the whole of heaven in a debt of blame. "I AM" involves I AM, and ties you to the Supreme Father.—Edna Lister, August 3, 1954.

Your responsibility is to lift your share of earth’s spiritual debts. If you refuse, another must do it for you. Debt is yours to lift, so do so with no thought of self or deviation. "This is good. I love you. Come to me to be lifted."—Edna Lister, October 17, 1954.

The Father may use you to reprimand a soul to save that soul. Yet you pay a debt of blame according to the way you submit to be used to deliver the reprimand under the law of necessity. Light cannot completely wipe out the force of the reprimand unless you kneel in deep consecration at the altar, acknowledge your faults and ask that it be wiped out. Then the Father can set aside the blamed make it a gift to you.—Edna Lister, November 8, 1954.

You stumble on criticism. God is not interested in your opinion of the other fellow. I do not waste my soul substance in idle words, which is a misuse of Power and reacts as force. You pay a debt for analyzing another, yet sometimes examining details is necessary and to weave it all into a cable of Light for lifting. Loose the other fellow, let him go and wallow in his own hole. Pray and lift the person or situation you have analyzed.—Edna Lister, November 21, 1954.

You must finally recognize and acknowledge your debts and that law has the right to present you with a bill for payment.—Edna Lister, Jesus, the Man of God, December 5, 1954.

You are supposed to pay all debts to law contracted daily, for you must balance the day’s books today.—Edna Lister, February 11, 1955.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."—Matthew 6:33 is the first law. You must pay all debts to have "all things added" before you call.—Edna Lister, July 4, 1955.

Paying your debt to the last penny is an act of contrition and surrender. To pay your debt on the "cash and carry" plan of life, stand under the Light, saying, "Father, please wipe out this debt," and apologize on the outer. An apology where one is needed is good training against willfulness and selfishness.—Edna Lister, Salvation Through Faith, July 10, 1955.

Lift earth’s masses to render them immune to darkness, lifting them high enough to be wise when the doers of darkness arrive — to be so wise they cannot be fooled. Also, work with the fallen ones, who are "bound," enslaved by their debts, to raise them. So, what you do and become now is crucial. Today builds you for tomorrow’s greater service and the "greater works." Owe no debts of blame for any man or matter. Listen to nothing of darkness, and pay no attention to evil except to lift and know that Light cleanses it as you declare it so.—Edna Lister, August 7, 1955.

If you go after someone for doing wrong, you must pay a debt for a revenge motive.—Edna Lister, August 21, 1955.

You use soul credits when you claim pain. "Give me enough strength just to finish, then I can cuddle you, dear little pain." When you know that pain is payment of a spiritual debt, you can say, "Father, let the Power move forth. Let this debt be burned like Moses’ burning bush." The spiritual debt is absorbed, and you no longer experience pain.—Edna Lister, The Open Door, November 20, 1955.

When you must reprimand a child or an adult, you have used force and pay a debt, even when justified. When you lash with your tongue, you use the knife of force. Though you must do it, you still pay a debt.—Edna Lister, December 1, 1955.

Only the love of God gives you the courage to choose the right way, instead of wandering in the darkness, wasting time, paying revolving debts.—Edna Lister, The Three Loves, April 15, 1956.

If you return a curse, you give him your soul substance and take on his debts. It takes much lifting in love later, until you have redeemed your soul substance and are free, which you can do only by loving God enough.—Edna Lister, June 18, 1956.

If you have depended upon God to wipe out your sins, avoided paying your own spiritual, mental, emotional and material debts, or acted like a moron, God still says, "Child, I still declare you good. However, I cannot set aside law for you. I love you. I will hold your place open, but here are your debts. What are you going to do about them?" You must pay debts, even if you have been a saint spiritually.—Edna Lister, Numbers and Names, Twelve Cosmic Magnitudes, July 10, 1956.

An inner conflict cannot pay dividends or cover debts.—Edna Lister, Nor Shadow of Turning, July 15, 1956.

Handle all debts as owed to God or the law, with the debtor paying his debts at the right time, without personality entering. To think that a person owes you puts it under the lesser laws of loss and delay. Law is justice itself. Cleanse yourself first, open all doors and windows for the debtors of earth, and lift all personality involved while declaring that law does the work. Free personality by putting it on a cloud of Light. Law is the only thing that holds the one you are blaming safely in the Light.—Edna Lister, October 25, 1956.

To constructively change an organization or a city is glorious, even if you must pay a debt of force in doing so. Every great teacher who has ever destroyed some old interpretation of truth has paid a debt of force, though he receives credit for his faith and motive of unveiling new glory.—Edna Lister, The Glory: Your Ascension, November 11, 1956.

Every time you lift, you displace force. If a loved one begins cursing or acting poorly, God expects you to stand and lift him as he spews out the force. When force remains to be lifted, you feel a sense of shortness of time. You run, hurry to reach up, to lift your family. In so doing, you often precipitate soul debts. Still, you must do this. The Master knew this law and paid the debt for forcing earth higher in Ascension.—Edna Lister, January 24, 1957.

All must pay their debts and lift pain. Don’t pay attention to it, but just persevere. Someday you’ll say, "This is enough!"—Edna Lister, June 6, 1957.

When you blame another, he goes free and you, the criticizer, pay the debt. Stop blaming, and ask the Father to heal him and cover his debts.—Edna Lister, June 6, 1957.

It is not your business to have another learn his lesson—this would make you responsible to pay his debts, and is not good for him.—Edna Lister, June 6, 1957.

To pay your debts, be alive, alert and aware in everything you do. Send Power to cover past bigotries in yourself and your loved ones.—Edna Lister, August 4, 1957.

You may ask, “Why? I thought I’d paid that debt”—but have paid only a part.—Edna Lister, September 24, 1957.

God covers your spiritual debts with Light, and gives you success in business, healing and strength when you ask forgiveness.—Edna Lister, God Is a Gentleman, September 29, 1957.

Every flash of illumination opens an incarnation. Some bring the good that accrued, but others bring debts owed.—Edna Lister, September 29, 1957.

When someone pays your debt, repay by paying others’ debts when you can, eliminating criticism, judgments, condemnations, etc., about them. You are obligated to relieve others who are burdened with debt, so look around to find things to lift. You cover his transgressions with Light to free him.—Edna Lister, September 30, 1957.

Those who believe that nothingness lies on the other side of what we call death are those who wish to escape paying their spiritual debts.—Edna Lister, Conquering Space, October 15, 1957.

God is impersonal as principle, yes, but as personality, the Father would relieve you of the burdens of the soul debts of the world, if He could.—Edna Lister, November 3, 1957.

Be slow in taking offense, lest you charge and assume debts of blame. Why give anyone power over you? If one is offensive, he is standing in the dark. Draw him into the Light. Do not allow blots and smudges on your books.—Edna Lister, November 11, 1957.

Get over thinking about your spiritual debts. Worry causes you to use negative energy; just clean up under prayer. Tune out the world vibration and tune in the Power of Almighty God.—Edna Lister, The Point of No Return, December 15, 1957.

The "wrath of God" refers to the release of spiritual debt, substance tainted by the evil on earth. Each day, a small amount of this substance is released, every two hours as earth turns under the twelve signs in the Zodiacal Wheel. Those who have debts to pay or who have chosen to lift self in this lifetime also lift this misused Power and Substance. Thus, you can awaken happy, but feel unhappy a few hours later with no apparent cause. The answer is always the same, move up in consciousness and lift.—Edna Lister, December 17, 1957.

Move up in consciousness and stop paying soul debts through the body. Pay soul debts as you go. Put them in the purifying fires and love God enough for His fires to consume them.—Edna Lister, December 30, 1957.

Whenever you become responsible for paying your brother’s debts you are taking in metaphysical laundry.—Edna Lister, January 9, 1958.

No one pays another’s debts forever; he must eventually pay his own.—Edna Lister, February 20, 1958.

Ascend in consciousness, even when you are ill. Thank God for this and move higher in consciousness through gratitude and recognition that you are lifting force and paying debts with the pain or illness.– Edna Lister, March 4, 1958.

We are lifting evil from earth with our spiritual arms. The need to lift pain and suffering from earth is so great that we sometimes lift it through pain and suffering on earth. You lift a certain amount of world debt through your own experiences.—Edna Lister, March 6, 1958.

Somebody must lift the world’s spiritual debts, especially the Elect, who are responsible for every bit of darkness. Say, "Let the Light go through and set him free," to clean up the debt. If you will not take responsibility for every member of your family, you just do not love God enough. Someday, when you have paid the full debt, you will walk into a room and nothing will remain but perfection.—Edna Lister, May 1, 1958.

Whenever you criticize, you will pay the debt for the one you criticized. This is why evil politicians manage to remain in office. Public criticism pays their debts and hides them in a protective cloud to continue their evil machinations.—Edna Lister, June 2, 1958.

Lukewarm people who do not pay their soul debts leave them for others to lift. Keep the Power of the River of Life flowing through you for strength and vigor of body and soul. Power converts darkness to Light and nothing can touch you. How else can God lift this burden from earth if you do not pay some debts? That is your sacrifice. For example, setting war aside in prayer sets aside the hatreds of men.—Edna Lister, June 12, 1958.

"A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."—Proverbs 15:1. The soft answer lifts the other fellow’s debts.—Edna Lister, June 20, 1958.

If another’s words have hurt you, search your soul to see what you may have done wrong. Eventually you will find that you know he did not mean what he said. If this vibration is pure Light, you create no soul debt. The higher you go, the greater the debt you will pay for infraction.—Edna Lister, June 26, 1958.

You pay their debts when you criticize others.—Edna Lister, September 8, 1958.

Deathbed repentance does not pay debts, but does open the Gates to glory and places that soul in ascension kindergarten.—Edna Lister, A Charted Heaven, October 21, 1958.

Never pronounce judgment on the debts another owes. When he gives up self and God moves in, his abundance will come tenfold because he has covered the debt in Light and wiped it out.—Edna Lister, October 30, 1958.

Hypnosis relieves the rational soul of present consciously contracted soul debts but gives no information about how to pay debts from past lives. Do not seek to know what they are, just accept that you have them, ask for them to be lifted and thank God. Do this as often as you think of debt and whenever you wonder why "this" — whatever it is — is happening to you.—Edna Lister, November 13, 1958.

To coerce or force truth on one too weak or indifferent to bear it is to charge him a debt of blame if he misuses it.—Edna Lister, December 5, 1958.

Be responsible for all debts, past and present. Pay up all debts now.—Edna Lister, January 29, 1959.

God does not say, "Pay now," because of your soul debts, but, "When you can." Let it be a short time.—Edna Lister, May 4, 1959.

Clouds of spiritual debt may come from every direction. When they all come from one direction, you may just want to go to bed and sleep.—Edna Lister, May 7, 1959.

John 9 opens with the disciples asking Jesus whose sin caused the young man’s blindness. They were really asking whose spiritual debt this was. The religious world is conscious that illness and negatives are the result of sin, though most religions generally do not call this spiritual debt. The debts you owe usually result from personality traits. Some prefer to live life without accepting personal responsibility, trying to find an "easy way." These people have escapist personality traits. Others look for those who sin, ready to pin the record of sin on their coattails. These people have blame and unrighteous judgment traits and revenge motives.—Edna Lister, Visualization, May 17, 1959.

Those who apparently "get away with it" are really piling up spiritual debts they must pay at some future date.—Edna Lister, Visualization, May 17, 1959.

Move to the center, the hub of the wheel of Light, and know that Light will lift your debts as you lift the world.—Edna Lister, May 18, 1959.

Pay your soul debts as you go. Some pay it on the outer in tears because they do not obey. If more people let the law do the work, there would be less disobedience or need for grief.—Edna Lister, May 28, 1959.

Children may not know they have spiritual debts, but they do experience the law of action and reaction, called cause and effect.—Edna Lister, Jesus’ Seven Last Words, June 7, 1959.

Irresponsibility, a state of consciousness, is the root of agnosticism and atheism. He who will not accept God just will not accept responsibility for his own debts; he wants to avoid paying his debts.—Edna Lister, Heaven as a State of Consciousness and as a Place, June 16, 1959.

You cover a cosmic debt with a cosmic service.—Edna Lister, June 29, 1959.

For every demand you make, you double what you must do for the other fellow. This creates spiritual debts.—Edna Lister, I AM the Way, October 4, 1959.

You can pay your debts with love and more fervency in prayer. The greatest gift you can give your Father is to pay your debts by ascending in a time of crisis: Seek ye first the kingdom of God.—Matthew 6:33.—Edna Lister, The 33 Degrees of Soul Conquering, October 20, 1959.

No one may change high laws in meaning, yet you may temper and modify them to meet the soul’s present abilities, plus a little for vision—but not enough to rebuke the other fellow for past negligence that makes it seem too hard to pay the debt.—Edna Lister, October 30, 1959.

Love enough is the only way you can pay spiritual debts and ascend.—Edna Lister, Feed My Sheep, November 22, 1959.

When you foolishly forget your responsibility to stay up in consciousness, you tear down the lines of Light in every cosmic magnitude and division, from earth to the Source. Some lines will stretch, yet others snap. The expense of time and effort, the call to repair the lines incurs a large, heavy debt that someone must assume.—Edna Lister, December 2, 1959.

Pay your share of the world’s debts by becoming the law and declaring it good without a doubt that all shall become good.—Edna Lister, December 17, 1959.

You can charge a debt of blame with just a few words. You can lift it, pay your share, but you cannot free the person whom you have blamed. He must go through the initiation because by blaming him, you challenge him to take all the initiations connected with that particular issue again. Thus, you directly demand that he be chastened for misuse of law in your opinion. You, the challenger, must pay double, but you cannot pay his debt. Where you have directly criticized his use of law, your challenge precipitates any floating unpaid debts of a like nature on you. Thus, the law compensates, action and reaction.—Edna Lister, December 17, 1959.

Jesus’ seven words on the cross are seven vibrations he spoke the Word to lift to pay the world’s debts. In doing so, he cleaned up every bit of the force that he had been instrumental in creating during his life.—Edna Lister, May 8, 1960.

When you make a critical statement about someone, you bring him into your aura and assume his debts associated with the issue about which you criticized him.—Edna Lister, From Adam to Jesus, May 22, 1960.

You must give equivalent love for every debt you have charged to others.—Edna Lister, What Is a Miracle? May 24, 1960.

The joyous sinner’s joy can wipe out his debt.—Edna Lister, Consider the Lilies, May 29, 1960.

Forgiveness of sins does not mean God pays your debts, but that He extends you enough Love-as-Substance on credit to pay your gravity debts to Light.—Edna Lister, How Can I Apply Law to My Life? June 7, 1960.

You can’t pay your debts by moving or changing your mental address. Don’t run from a situation; it will inevitably catch up with you.—Edna Lister, What Is Your Measure of Power, June 12, 1960.

The way of the transgressor is hard and you learn that in hard ways. Yet, the glory of learning and lifting, and the ecstasy of knowing that the Father is always ready to pay the debt when you ask, this is the glory.—Edna Lister, October 14, 1960.

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."—Matthew 6:12. Jesus said that if we forgive the debts others owe us, the Father will forgive our debts. Yet pouring love on everyone first is the crucial step. Imagine that you are Christed, and live as the Christ would live. If you cannot bring yourself to declare that Light absorbs the past, you have not forgiven your debtors. What you have freed on earth, you have freed in heaven. Debts blossom when you just want someone else to pay them. The selfish thinking, "Father, forgive my debts," blocks your good. The prescription is "Father, forgive me." God cannot forgive you if you still charge a debt of blame or guilt to yourself or to others.—Edna Lister, The Ladder of Faith, December 18, 1960.

[John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, in the wake of overwhelming voter fraud in Illinois.] The candidate who wins the office of President pays the most spiritual debt. When a President is honorable, his henchmen’s debts are cancelled because their evil returns to the President’s "chair" — position — which represents the attracting action for accumulated evil, for it must be paid. Without chicanery, the debts created in the 1960 election could have been lifted, but so much was created before the election that it must be paid. No man-made thing can touch or limit God’s Power, yet much darkness created by men in the world still remains to be lifted.—Edna Lister, January 6, 1961.

[Mayor Richard J. Daley stole Illinois’ 27 Electoral College votes for fellow Democrat John F. Kennedy, denying Richard Nixon the presidency. Kennedy won the state by 8,858 of 4.7 million votes . . . Mayor Daley was known for stuffing ballot boxes and giving ward bosses and precinct captains vote quotas. Two recounts of Chicago-area voting later showed that Democrats had likely stolen tens of thousands of votes for the Democratic ticket, including down-ballot races.]

You pay all debts according to your ability to see and hear spiritually, but the trick is to see it without taking it on by focusing on it. Faultfinding is the first seeing among those of lesser intelligence, who see evil in the mirror of another soul.—Edna Lister, January 12, 1961.

"I AM so sorry" is no debt payer, but an excuse for the self only.—Edna Lister, January 12, 1961.

Repentance does not pay your debts, but makes it possible to pay them.—Edna Lister, Forgiveness, March 31, 1961.

As long as you must still pay indebtedness to law, it is like a drag anchor. If it catches on a rock, it throws you flat. Where you feel no dragging anchor of debt, life’s challenges are far less likely to pull you down in consciousness. If you feel an inclination to be pulled, stand upright facing east, raise your hands and declare that love melts the rock. You need not be more specific about what the rock is, whether acts, hurtful words, hardness of heart, criticism, condemnation, or use of the lash. Whatever it may be, Light will direct power of love on it, and nothing can withstand the full Power of God’s almighty love.—Edna Lister, May 27, 1961.

Judging a person’s potential is different from justly appraising his ability to perform. You pay a debt for holding another accountable to his vision level, rather than to his appraisal level.—Edna Lister, July 26, 1961.

God places you in situations to meet those whose soul debts need lifting. You must lift debts for all those with whom you are connected.—Edna Lister, August 3, 1961.

If you observe high potential capacity in someone, then demand that they live up to that potential capacity, you pay the debt. When you see the potential in another, you may point it out delicately, but may not be disappointed when or if he fails to meet his potential. You must accept the fact of his performance, and be ready to pick up the dangling details he may leave. Speak to entice and praise him to exceed his own better or best. Tell him, "You can do anything that you decide to do."—Edna Lister, August 3, 1961.

When a cloud of spiritual debt approaches, four great principles begin acting: Suction, expansion, attraction and repulsion. Suction draws the Power for you to expand. Your auric sphere of lights contracts and repels darkness. The secret is obedience to all law always. Never be asleep in consciousness. Remain alive, alert and pay all consideration.—Edna Lister, September 7, 1961.

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."—Proverbs 10:12. Law calls us to cover the transgressions of others, which means to cover what they do until you can see what they really are. To pile a debt of blame on another’s darkness only buries it deeper until he feels quite perfect because your darkness of blame, added to his misdeed, hides it. To cover another’s darkness with the Power of cosmic love absorbs his darkness and reveals his debt.—Edna Lister, Your Contact With Cosmic Power, October 8, 1961.

You must pay your debts where you are.—Edna Lister, God’s Magna Carta, October 29, 1961.

Your path from Gethsemane to Golgotha has been a long uphill climb, seemingly endless. Feet bruised, the cross greater than you could hold, yet you have always accepted divine strength, gotten up and carried on. What I say to you now has nothing to do with this faithfulness, strength and compassion with which you have faced the world and its needs. Yet you must conquer one lack now. You have always used credits and your greatness of spirit and dauntless courage to cover small transgressions of your tongue. Yet when you reach a certain pinnacle, you cannot cover your debts with credits. You must conquer your tongue, which you have often used to speak detriments, what the world says about things and have often dragged in past detriments unwisely. You have made vows before the altar to conquer, and have more of conquering to do. Do not allow yourself to speak of the past with the one who recreates the old negativity, even in simple conversations. If she does, say, “That has nothing to do with the platform on which we stand here.”—Edna Lister, November 5, 1961.

You are responsible for lifting his debts when you stop someone from talking. Incessant chatter holds his debts at bay, and if you stop his flow of words, his debts come to him. Place a seal of Light on his lips, but lift his debts.—Edna Lister, April 17, 1962.

This is the Father’s Balance Sheet — When you curse God, He lets it go forth to draw unto itself its kind, and when you pray, the wings of your prayer draw it in to be lifted. Just as the curse attracts things of a like nature as it circles the world, so do the wings of your prayer lift all your debts to be consumed. Pray constantly to lift all the untied ends. If you pray for anything about another, something probably is wrong with you.—Edna Lister, April 18, 1962.

Paying spiritual debt is the process you use to reamalgamate the Mind, Substance and Power you have misused. Someone can pray for you and cover your debts, but you can do nothing high until you have paid your debts.—Edna Lister, The Beginning of All Life, May 1, 1962.

You may have paid your spiritual debts, but must also lift the soul substance you spent in blame, for instance, thinking that it was God’s fault that you were hurt. Sometimes your soul substance carries some of the other fellow’s debt when it returns to you. Lift it.—Edna Lister, August 9, 1962.

When you mislead people, they follow you until someone pays the debt.—Edna Lister, August 16, 1962.

Substitute the word "debt" for the "wrath of God" in the Bible; "God pours His wrath" means the soul substance from the dark clouds that humanity creates by their misuse of Power.—Edna Lister, Your Field of Wheat and Tares, December 9, 1962.

To lift another, you must know what is wrong. Yet "seeing" the wrong, even at a glance, creates a debt, although our motive is pure; therefore, unless you lift it, the resulting force hits you physically.—Edna Lister, February 27, 1963.

You may not steal another’s hope or reputation without paying a debt.—Edna Lister, April 4, 1963.

When Power must move through your inner resistance, it causes trouble; you can vitalize soul debts rather than produce something good.—Edna Lister, The Eighth Age: Earth’s Final Age, July 16, 1963.

Debts blossom when you want someone else to pay them.—Edna Lister, July 28, 1963.

Do not involve another in idle words, for though your soul debts may be paid, you will owe his debt, too.—Edna Lister, August 15, 1963.

When you complain about the poor and needy ones who come to you, you charge a debt to God Himself.—Edna Lister, November 8, 1963.

You are responsible for your own debts. You must pay them, and may not drop any. God sees all you do, and do not do. For using force, you pay the whole debt for family, friends, or coworkers involved.—Edna Lister, December 1, 1963.

An illumination or soul-shaking experience loosens bits of your soul debt, which you must reach out, gather and lift to the altar. Otherwise, these clouds of debt will reattach themselves to your shoulders.—Edna Lister, February 6, 1964.

If an experience arouses fear, doubt, frustration or another negative response, a soul debt is involved. Should you bring fear, doubts, etc., with you into a life, you crystallize the strand of the silver cord that carries that record. Unless you face such emotions and lift them to conquer, you leave a record of fear, etc., and "harden" the cord so that it will not stretch for soul flights.—Edna Lister, February 6, 1964.

Everyone knows that irresponsibility is blithely doing anything one pleases, never paying an emotional or material debt. Responsibility is steadfastness in repaying all your debts for things, actions and words. Responsibility means to take the blame for what your words or actions cause, without becoming soft, a doormat, or unbalanced. When you pay spiritual debts on the outer, you receive tenfold credits on the inner.—Edna Lister, Responsibility, February 14, 1964.

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."—Matthew 6:34 refers to dispersed spiritual debt and its controlled release. Heaven’s Courts of Justice release all that the traffic will bear, sometimes deliberately more than enough to sway someone, but never more than his strength to overcome.—Edna Lister, April 20, 1964.

God pays no attention when you pout; the only thing you get from pouting is a debt for the time you spend doing it.—Edna Lister, Life, Your Glory and Splendor, April 26, 1964.

"I did not know" will not save you; you must still pay your debt on earth. The one who judges and says, "You are doing wrong," pays the greatest debt.—Edna Lister, Life, Your Glory and Splendor, April 26, 1964.

Every time you stick your nose into someone else’s business, you lasso him and tie him to you. You pay his debts.– Edna Lister, June 25, 1964.

Until you clean out your consciousness, you will still use force and have debts to pay. If you think the old thoughts, you recreate the old limitations.—Edna Lister, July 23, 1964.

If your giving of law to another is tainted by any self, you pay the other’s debts for misuse ad infinitum.—Edna Lister, September 3, 1964.

God has a credit plan already waiting for you. Put your debts on a cloud with and release the Light to pay your debts on the long term payment plan.—Edna Lister, October 25, 1964.

The minute you develop a guilt complex, you challenge yourself to pay the associated debt. If what you feel guilty about is a must, do it and get it over with. However, you need not challenge yourself if you have done it all before; for example, I do not like to write while on a train, but having done so, I no longer feel guilty about not doing so.—Edna Lister, December 17, 1964.

When you must put a lesson into words, you have a debt to pay on being cruel, and the debt is greater if the other person blames you for the cruelty.—Edna Lister, December 17, 1964.

People fail to understand the workings of divine justice because their ideas are rooted in judging by earthy opinions about justice. A Heavenly Councilor speaks with full conscious knowledge of all that has preceded the present occasion. The Councilors are obligated to study the past incarnations and actions, thinking and emotions of the one before the Council for justice. You have no way of doing so while you are on earth. You are not able to see what the Councilors see — the lights on all past disobedience and the results of reactions that the individual must meet and pay. Lights shine on five different paths of reaction for the just payment of a debt. Every disobedient one must pay, especially those who know better. Therefore, what may seem harsh is pure justice if the soul so being judged is to hold gains he has already made of place, position and ascension.—Edna Lister, January 13, 1965.

When you stop someone from talking, you make yourself responsible for lifting his soul debts. His incessant talking keeps his debts away and when you stop the flow of words, all his debts come to him. When doing this is necessary, place a seal of Light on his lips, but you must then speak the Word to lift his debts, and continue thanking God that they are lifted.—Edna Lister, March 3, 1965.

Never excuse or make excuses. An excuse charges a debt of blame to yourself, to another on the outer or to your Sponsor on the inner. Never blame, criticize, judge or condemn self or another.—Edna Lister, August 2, 1965.

"I’m sorry" does not pay the debt, it only acknowledges the blame.—Edna Lister, December 2, 1965.

You pay a debt for interfering with another.—Edna Lister, Invisible, Powerful You, December 12, 1965.

Law charges indifference and lack of interest as soul debts.—Edna Lister, January 19, 1966.

The higher you go, the harder the penalty, the greater the debt and the force of a dropped line. A teacher must let people learn their lessons.—Edna Lister, February 3, 1966.

You are supposed to pay your share of the world’s spiritual debts by becoming the law without a doubt, and declaring it good. You may not doubt.—Edna Lister, February 12, 1966.

Cover everything with Light, face the Light and declare, "Father, here I AM. Please fill all the holes I have left." This lifts all debts, yours and others’. Do not waste God’s time or use unpleasant words to describe the situation. If you do not fill the dark places, they touch your aura and pull you down. Double the effort on filling the dirty holes and world debt. Do not wait, or delay. Some leave their debts for another life. Let Light go forth for all the past and now.—Edna Lister, March 4, 1966.

You create a great debt to pay if you force a truth on one who does not desire to know it. If you pay attention, you can tell when his cup is full.—Edna Lister, May 2, 1966.

You can always stray and return, but you must pay your debts.—Edna Lister, May 3, 1966.

You pay every jot and tittle of the debt that accrues when you recreate in gossip or idle talk.—Edna Lister, May 12, 1966.

You can pay your debts by overcoming a limitation.—Edna Lister, The White Flame of Glory, May 15, 1966.

God will allow unpleasant testings to come to you but only when it pays a soul debt, promotes you or helps another to ascend.—Edna Lister, October 20, 1966.

If you must forgive, you have already charged the debt of blame.—Edna Lister, Do You Follow Your Path of Destiny? December 4, 1966.

Those who have done evil name soul debts and claim the returning of evil to the senders as God’s vengeance and wrath because of its inevitable, unchanging firmness, which they must eventually conquer and pay. Everyone who turns again to God is received of God and this opens the Gates to the evil ones that they may learn how to pay their debts. Debts must be paid!—Edna Lister, March 19, 1967.

Do God’s work and pay your debts joyously.—Edna Lister, May 7, 1967.

Selfishness always breeds despair and gathers all past debts to be paid at once. When a soul has no self-sacrificial exchange rate, the body must do the paying. The tragedy of selfishness and greed is that the dry rot begins under the surface in the submerged parts of soul, and remains hidden until it is too late for help. You see many cases of this in various cancers, chronic illnesses and senility. For example, you hear the question, "Why did Name wait so long before going to a doctor?" He put off going because he did not recognize any need.

Many souls just keep pushing and forcing till their mountain of debt falls on them. The danger of forcing is nil only under high spiritual desire to succeed in ascension. Once a burning, sizzling desire has taken over the rational soul, healing can occur without the soul ever knowing that he had needed healing. This most often happens in lungs, the organs of inspiration and aspiration. Many are examined who have scar tissue, yet the healing was so light, the rational soul remained unaware.—Edna Lister, May 12, 1967.

When you condemn, you must pay half the debt of the one whom you judge.—Edna Lister, Judgment and Love, May 14, 1967.

As you open a past incarnation, you clean up the little chunks of spiritual debt that you have loosened. When you lift a debt, you may not know whether it is yours, your family’s, a friend’s or for the world, but you lift like mad. The Father fills your aura with Light, but unless the Power flows through regularly, the bits of misused soul substance will weigh you down like an anchor. Surround yourself and others with a backfire zone of protection. They plow furrows to stop a prairie fire, so it backfires and burns in on itself. Keep plowing your fire zone by lifting. What you give to others lifts your debts.—Edna Lister, June 1, 1967.

Pacifists let others fight their battles, but they must still share the debt.—Edna Lister, The Supremacy of Religion, October 15, 1967.

God will conquer, as long as He has righteous men and women standing. All evil must be lifted. Do not picture the carnage on battlefields except as the destruction of evil to release the force piled up on the "good" but lukewarm Christians for about two billion years’ worth of spiritual debt. Everyone does this at night.—Edna Lister, January 9, 1968.

When your compassion slides into sympathy, you work out the other fellow’s debts.—Edna Lister, March 10, 1968.

"I’m sorry" contracts a debt; stop using apologies as an excuse.—Edna Lister, June 13, 1968.

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."—Proverbs 15:1. The soft answer that turns away wrath also lifts the other fellow’s soul debts.—Edna Lister, June 20, 1968.

Lifting the last of the spiritual debts of the whole world is not an easy matter. It is one of vigilance, prayer and continuous knowing and praising while ignoring the evil that we must declare as absorbed in Light, for we must declare it absorbed. The rewards will be commensurate with the suffering, holding and standing. Faithfulness counts greatly in the kingdom.—Edna Lister, July 21, 1968.

You are responsible for every word you utter, and pay the debts for any resulting misused Power. Declare that past unpleasantness never happened.—Edna Lister, November 7, 1968.

You contract a debt when you relate a just appraisal in another’s presence. You may know the truth about this fellow, but if you voice it, God credits it as an admission of what you must lift. You must admit it here on earth to lift it from the heavenly universal records. No excuse is legal. Pay the debt by going up in consciousness, lifting and keeping Light on the other fellow.—Edna Lister, November 15, 1968.

Stand in the Light and on principle. Ignore what others do, and hold for the payment of all spiritual debt. Do not think or talk about it. Go to the Source, and take nothing of earth, no past hurts or grudges. Lift repudiation, which is the "devil" incarnate. Entertain no inner conflict. Lift constantly so that no force builds up for you. Whenever anything comes to you, look on the adversary and accept his attitude that you are "always wrong," from the lifting point of view. Yours is not the way, but God’s is. You can take life’s bumps and bruises if you give it all to God constantly. This way, you do not get “hurt,” and it adds no debt of force to pay.—Edna Lister, February 9, 1969.

One way to pay a debt is to love God more, to say, “Let there be Light,” and have joy in your soul. When you stand in Light, you will do the right thing, because it is given in the moment of need.—Edna Lister, June 30, 1969.

You must live by the mathematical exactitude of divine law to pay your debts to God.—Edna Lister, Laws for Divine Living, February 19, 1970.

Don’t feel you must pay the debt for all the failures. Pay your debts if you fail.—Edna Lister, Victory, Using Your Magic Wand, May 24, 1970.

Charge no debt to another, for to believe in anything ungodly for more than an instant lifting charges a debt to another, leaving you with a double debt to pay.—Edna Lister, June 17, 1970.

God sends you to the right place, where you can pay your debts, do the most good and fulfill your mission. You must learn how to wait and listen to be in the right place at the right time. Some people find this difficult to accept.—Edna Lister, The Miracle of Water into Wine, November 1, 1970.

Just lifting your own personal debts is not enough; you must lift all.—Edna Lister, The Blind Man at the Pool of Siloam, December 6, 1970.

Treatments for Paying Soul Debts

The Father knows how deeply your repentance goes, so do not talk about it. Release enough love and Power to wash away your offense. Say, "Let Light fill the past, to wipe every page clean," so declaring it good.—Edna Lister, November 12, 1951.

When you say, "Father, forgive them," you must be certain you are not charging the full debt of blame to the other fellow. So say instead, "Father, forgive me because I had not enough love to cover his debt. Father, forgive me for causing my brother to stumble."—Edna Lister, The Living Chalice, December 7, 1952.

To pay your debt on the "cash and carry" plan of life, stand under the Light, saying, "Father, please wipe out this debt," and apologize on the outer. An apology where one is needed is good training against willfulness and selfishness.—Edna Lister, Salvation Through Faith, July 10, 1955.

Lift others’ debts. "Father, let me reach out and draw in all the debts of Name. Let the misused Mind, Substance and Power be dissolved and purified."—Edna Lister, December 30, 1957.

Reach out for those whom God must heal, and declare that all their spiritual debt is lifted. Remain high in consciousness and lift their idle words.—Edna Lister, August 9, 1962.

To pay your debt of negative statements, gather all the words together and ascend them in one great prayer. Move up in consciousness and remain in the Light. Praise that all obstacles are removed. Endure in joy, without self-pity.—Edna Lister, December 1, 1963.

Sometimes when you reach for Light, it does not seem adequate but it loosens 25,000 years of spiritual debt. Reach out arms of Light to gather this loosened substance and force and lift it to the Light. You must redeem everything that has been yours since you descended, and “it” wants to return more than you want to lift it. The minute it comes loose, gather it up and lift it.—Edna Lister, December 9, 1963.

The time always comes when you must pay the debts of all whom you contact to free your own life sparks for purification and clean up the crystallization and frozen life sparks from the past, and those life sparks invested during this incarnation. So declare, "Let Light lift everyone onto their own cloud of light." Call them by name and call the fire of heaven down on them. The concluding statement is, "You are wonderful. I love you in your own place." But this must always follow a statement and lifting. Then, "Thank You, Father, that You keep me on my own cloud, in my own place, doing Your work."—Edna Lister, January 13, 1965.

Whenever you think of the need for lifting, stand still where you are, and pray. Declare positively, such as, "Everyone keeps their promises. Everyone pays their debts," etc. For all accidents, say, "Thank You, Father, that this much of the world debt is paid." Then there will be less destruction. When outer things are destroyed, the life sparks are gathered up and used again to build something of new outer form.—Edna Lister, November 16, 1965.

Ask that people’s debts be paid for them: "Let John’s debt be paid, leaving only enough for him to learn his lesson."—Edna Lister, January 27, 1966.

How to Pay a Debt: Go to God’s Mercy Seat and kneel. He enfolds you in the Light, the vibration that you translate into words or action, which is your answer as to what to do. You always feel the answer. You cannot annoy God by going to Him too often.—Edna Lister, January 28, 1966.

Cover everything with Light, face the Light and declare, "Father, here I AM. Please fill all the holes I have left." This lifts all debts, yours and others’. Do not waste God’s time or use unpleasant words to describe the situation. If you do not fill the dark places, they touch your aura and pull you down. Double the effort on filling the dirty holes and world debt. Do not wait, or delay. Some leave their debts for another life. Let Light go forth for all the past and now.—Edna Lister, March 4, 1966.

The first payment of heavy spiritual debt comes at age twenty-one. When there is a heavy debt load, then somewhere along the line the soul has been lazy about paying his debts. Debts always catch up. A good treatment for covering them is, "Father, let Light from my Star go forth and fill any holes I’ve left today." You can use this treatment for others, as well. When you speak the word for another, you empower the Light in their Star to go forth.—Edna Lister, Seven Life Ages of Man: From Birth to the Star’s Descent, November 22, 1966.

Stories That Illustrate Soul Debts

As Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I AM not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.—Matthew 9:9-13.

The Blind Young Man: As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.—John 9:1-3.

New Testament on Soul Debts

Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire [because it is judgmental cursing].—Matthew 5:22. [Raca is a term of contempt for a person without education or morals.]

Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.—Matthew 5:32. [You are adulterating vows made to God.]

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.—Matthew 6:12.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—Matthew 6:34.

Go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."—Matthew 9:13. [Do not do wrong then plea bargain for forgiveness.]

The Son of man [Christos] hath power on earth to forgive sins.—Matthew 9:6.

All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.—Matthew 12:30.

Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man [a personality], it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost [a principle], it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.—Matthew 12:32.

Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.—Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17. [Do not conflate the world’s requirements of you with your responsibility to God.]

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.—Matthew 23:23.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.—Matthew 25:40.

Your faith will make you whole: When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.—Mark 2:5. Thy faith hath made thee whole.—Mark 10:52 Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.—Mark 5:34.

All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.—Mark 3:28-29.

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.—Mark 11:25-26.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.—Luke 6:37-38.

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.—Luke 13:1-5. [Because bad things happen to some people does not mean that they are worse sinners than others.]

Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.—Luke 15:7.

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.—Luke 15:10.

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.—Luke 17:3-4.

You receive no greater reward for doing your duty. When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do." See Luke 17:10.

Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.—John 5:14.[When you have been made well, sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.]

Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.—John 8:34.

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.—John 8:7.

For judgment I AM come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.—John 9:39-41.

If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.—John 15:22. [If Christ had not mde the sinners aware of their sin, they would have no sin, but because he did, they have no excuse for their sin.]

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.—John 20:23.

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.—Romans 12:17.

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.—Romans 13:8.

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.—Romans 14:13.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.—Galatians 6:7-9.

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.—James 2:8-9.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.—James 3:10.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.—James 4:8.

Him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.—James 4:17.

Above above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.—James 5:12.

The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.—James 5:15.

He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.—James 5:20.

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.—1 Timothy 5:21-22.

Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.—1 Timothy 5:24‑25.

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.—Hebrews 5:1-4.

Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.—Hebrews 9:28.

Vicarious Atonement: It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.—Hebrews 10:4. [Blood offerings cannot take away sins.]

The Atonement: We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.—Hebrews 10:10-14.

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.—1 Peter 2:21-25.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.—1 Peter 3:8-9.

Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.—1 Peter 4:8.

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. ... But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.—2 Peter 1:5‑7, 9.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.—1 John 3:4.

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.—1 John 5:16.

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.—3 John 1:11.

Old Testament on Soul Debts

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.—Proverbs 10:12.

He who sows iniquity shall reap vanity.—Proverbs 22:8.