Institutions That Fail

SAT., JUNE 30, 1990, 6:20 AM
FARM, STUDY

The musical play you saw last night was the story of “one great shining moment”… the success of a human institution and then its failure. Its demise was partly due to evil forces and skullduggery, and partly to the clash between justice and mercy, between the law and love. All human institutions have these seeds of failure, for this earth plane was not designed and developed for perfection but for spiritual growth. There are realms of perfection where justice and mercy do not clash, but flow together like the tao symbol. Always remember that earth is special in this way.

The institutions of a democracy are beautiful in theory, but so are those of communism. Greed is the human weakness that generally cause some to fail. The other is the desire to have and wield power. Arthur had power, which he wielded in a benevolent way. Democracies are wary of such power, and so there are checks and balances, but these invite corruption of different sorts. Your country is saddled with a great debt because of the greed and corruption of a few, who took advantage of the faith in the system.

Do I have a role in all of these machinations. Of course. Nothing as vital as the rise and fall of institutions in this earth of Mine can run completely “on their own.” I have no overall plan that I can share with you. I can see the consequences of complex human action in ways of which no human, no group, no institution, and no technological device is capable. I am not directly in charge of all the functioning that goes on in the earth, but I do decide what to allow and what to control, in subtle or powerful ways.

The United States in the post World War II period has been a minor Camelot… or so it has seemed. Technology has flourished, and institutions have grown in the freedom allowed. Yet your course is not one the majority of countries can take, nor is it one that can be sustained by you. The entropy principle guarantees that the waste from continued production and high living will become increasingly harmful. Even when freedom is used responsibly by most the temptations to abuse it cannot be resisted by a few. I shall not tell you what will reduce the “shining moment” of your nation, but it will come.

You know My basic criterion: spiritual growth. (You should know this by now.) There is much spiritual growth occurring in your culture, the sort that develops in good times. Also some are growing through a positive response to poverty, abuse, and hardship. Still, balances must change, for I see the values in variety. It is not a matter of “being good” so that change is not necessary. Rather, it is a matter of taking as many opportunities for spiritual growth as possible and just trusting in Me.

Remember that My sacrifice, as Jesus, finally overcame the power of death. It also overcame the power of partial death – the loss of any aspects of functioning that have been important to you. This could be some physical disability… or economic advantage… or a change in working conditions… destruction of your home… or… If you accept My sacrifice, none of these conditions can harm your essence, which is spirit. Mystically, instead they encourage spiritual development, and you are aware of this. You thank me for blessings. You must also thank Me for losses and tragedies, for these, too, contribute to the truly “good life.”

This seems pollyannaish, I know. So I’ll just say that if it weren’t for the Christ spirit in the earth what is apparently destructive would be. Where this Spirit is not acknowledged the bad effects are real. When the Spirit flows freely life is as good as it can be, no matter what the objective conditions.