© 1997 Ann Bendall
© 1997 The Brotherhood of Man Library
“Spiritual growth yields lasting joy, peace which passes all understanding.” (UB 100:4.3)
How do we achieve such peace? The Urantia Book abounds with tips such as: “Spiritual growth is first an awakening to needs, next a discernment of meanings, and then a discovery of values. The evidence of true spiritual development consists in the exhibition of a human personality motivated by love, activated by unselfish ministry, and dominated by the wholehearted worship of the perfection ideals of divinity. And this entire experience constitutes the reality of religion as contrasted with mere theological beliefs.” (UB 100:2.2)
It sounds so succinct and, when applied to daily living, can be aided by “effective prayer” (UB 91:9.1). And the most effective? A beautiful hymn called Day by Day, fills my mind as I pose this question, and in particular the words “Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly, day by day.”
The revelators try so hard to steer us in the right direction, to give us practical tips on progress, such as “Habits which favor religious growth embrace cultivated sensitivity to divine values, recognition of religious living in others, reflective meditation on cosmic meanings, worshipful problem solving, sharing one’s spiritual life with one’s fellows, avoidance of selfishness, refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God.” (UB 100:1.8)
This is not the philosophy of progress accepted by our culture. For those of us who are overwhelmed with the bustle of our daily existence, is there a simple formula for spiritual progress? Mine, of the moment, is based also on three tenets of living:
To love our Paradise Father with my whole mind, and to not sadden His day with the ugliness of my petty, and all too human, thoughts. And, naturally, to try to the best of my ability, to do what He wants—which is to be perfect like Him. I strive to achieve this by continually reminding myself to scrutinize my values and beliefs, questioning, “Are they worthy of a child of such a perfect and beautiful person?”
To remind myself that every person I meet is a brother or sister, to respect them, to strive to understand them as the prerequisite to loving them, and never to achieve my aims at their expense by inflicting my will against them, either subtly, by manipulation, or directly by blackmail and coercive tactics. To treat difficult brothers and sisters as Jesus treated Judas: i.e. to shut my mouth; to pray for them, and not to give advice unless it is asked for; not even ask them why they do not like me, and harbor malice towards me.
To have faith, reminding myself that there will not necessarily be any outward signs that I am spiritually growing. For to expect this would be foolish if I look at the life of the most perfect man who ever walked or ever will walk this planet—Jesus.
And when I fail, as all too often I do, to acknowledge my failure to myself and God, to apologize, and to clean up the mess created by my error or sin, for, “The confession of sin is a manful repudiation of disloyalty, but it in no wise mitigates the time-space consequences of such disloyalty. But confession—sincere recognition of the nature of sin—is essential to religious growth and spiritual progress.” (UB 89:10.5)