“When The World Turns Badly”

FEB. 21, 1982, 6:10 AM
FARM, FRONT OF FIRE

I have taught you much about this theme, o son, but it probably is the one that requires the most repetitive instruction for you affluent Christians of the Western world. An Indian in a poor village understands it better. A poor white family in Appalachia understands it differently, but also better. It is one of the hardest lessons for you, and others like you, to learn and to accept with genuine love and without resentment. There are many examples from the last few days. Trust that My world is never without examples.

A car doesn’t start (No, that is not an apt example that I, as Jesus, could have used). This is an example from the world of machines and technology. Much of the time these devises shall function adequately, even well. They do assist and make physical life easier in some ways… but at some point there will be failure. What then? Do you have alternative ways to accomplish what I desire? Can you accept machine failure as the loss of one means, but not a reason to cease the human interaction that is more important. Let the faulty machine have your attention for a minimal time. (The situation can be different for those whose vocations is the repair and maintenance of machines. Here attention may be more important, but their major focus should still be on ends rather than means.) Remember: a machine may be helpful, but it is never vital to ultimate spiritual growth. And this is what life really “is about”.

The body malfunctions. A mind entertains aberrations of truth. There is distress… in the person affected and in others who love that one. Some malfunctions are permanent, and earthly life is over or affected in important ways. Sometimes heart bypasses “work, and sometimes not. But spirit lives on eternally and can grow or can shrink in situations of malfunction.

Marriages fail, and family groups are affected. This happens when individual desires become stronger than the stability of the family. The control and expression of individual desires as against the good of the community… this is one of the true challenges of earth life. When you are hurt by the selfishness of another it is tempting… even natural… to feel sorry for your poor, wronged self and resentful against she or he who thought so much about self. Selfish begets selfish if the spirit is not strong enough to love the other and forgive her. Consider the other above self. And the world will turn more favorably.

Even in the midst of this teaching your felt annoyance that your furnace fire is not going well. There is nothing critical about this… it just is not doing what you want. If you had built it right in the first place it would have performed better. Now you are annoyed at the fire because you were not thorough in preparation. And it is worse when you resent other humans for matters that are of your own doing.