She Weighed Hearts, Determining Who Would Gain Access To The Afterlife
Hebrews 4:12 states that “the word of God … judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Ancient Egyptians believed that everyone could exercise goodness throughout their life, but THIS deity was trusted to judge who accessed the afterlife. No one escaped her come judgment day!
Ancient Egyptians believed that before accessing the afterlife, a soul’s heart needed weighing to see if they had exercised goodness throughout their life.
Only one deity could be trusted to weigh hearts – the wrong soul accessing the afterlife could bring chaos to the world!
Ancient Egyptians revered Ma’at, their deity of justice, harmony, and creation. Rooted in truth, Ma’at weighed a soul’s heart to see if it had been kind, compassionate, and generous with their community throughout their life.
Not every soul passed their weighing – Ma’at decided their fate in the Hall of Truth.
In the hall there was a large, golden scale. Ma’at would place a heart on one side of the scale, and on the other side she placed her Feather of Truth – an ostrich feather.
If the heart weighed less than the feather, its soul was welcomed into the afterlife. But if it weighed more, it was destroyed, and its soul ceased to exist!
Today, there are multiple references to “Judgment Day,” all of which are nods to Ma’at!
Religions worldwide worship different gods, but nearly all have the same criteria for passing judgment day: the Golden Rule, or simply “be kind.”
Like Ma’at, we must judge people within our community by their character. Additionally, we must ask ourselves, “Am I consistently practicing kindness and compassion?”
If we do this, we shouldn’t fear “Judgment Day!”
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