© 1992 Everett W. Sloffer
© 1992 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. (Luke 16:10)
Getting our priorities straight and integrated is the greatest challenge of human life. What things are of first importance and what things are only means to more significant ends? Is there a key principle which structures everything else in our lives? When Jesus was asked this question he replied that the first and greatest principle of living is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ( Matt. 22:37) What does this mean? What are the implications of this statement?
A great many people sincerely believe that God is too busy running the universe to be concerned with the utterly small details of daily living.
One evening while I was listening to a friend addressing a small group, he made a statement which for me opened up the depth and breadth of this first and greatest commandment. He said, “Jesus sought the Father’s will even in his smallest desire.” This statement struck me with the power of a new spiritual insight, a serendipitous revelation. I think this sentence contains the conceptual power to unlock new doorways of understanding of life and love and work and play, of every moment of being. It does even more than that — it reveals to us a glimpse of the infinite nature of God. This sentence implies three things:
First, the will of God extends to every possible action and decision, to every moment of being;
Second, the will of God is the most liberating force in the universe; and
Third, the will of God calls us to act.
This sentence, “Jesus sought the Father’s will even in his smallest desire,” corrects three major religious and philosophical errors that have haunted us for centuries. A great many people sincerely believe that God is too busy running the universe to be concerned with the utterly small details of daily living. They believe that the will of God only applies to the big decisions, the big actions, the major circumstances of one’s life, that God doesn’t sweat the small stuff. This is the first error that sentence corrects, because it tells us that Jesus — a mortal of the realm, the most wholly consecrated mortal who ever lived-made his commitment to God wholeheartedly, without reservations or qualifications. This includes the “little things.”
In matters of the spirit there is no such thing as “small stuff,” for the simple reason that everything we do originates deep within our character, takes origin in our primary level of faith and in our most profound and enduring level of commitment. When that commitment reaches true levels of God partnership, as Jesus demonstrated again and again in his daily life, every act and decision becomes spontaneously spiritual.
Jesus demonstrated that there is always a Godlike way, even to do the small things. He exhibited the Universal Father’s will and way. Jesus knew that we live and move and have our being within God’s care. God not only runs the universe, but also has created ways to express his will everywhere and at every moment, not only to us as individuals, but also to all life. Jesus knew that the expression of the Father’s will is at every moment and in every circumstance perfectly coordinated with the progress of the entire unfolding of the universe, and that God does all of these things simultaneously without ever becoming tired or overworked. Jesus knew that as the expansion of the universe continues on into the deepest regions of infinity, God will still continue to do these things because there are no limits on the power of God. None.
We know that God’s way to express his will for each of us is through the action of the Spirit of God which so faithfully shares our inner life and experience. The activity of the Spirit of God in the mind of every sentient being in all creation is actualizing the will of God throughout the universe.
Those who think that God is too busy to be concerned even with our smallest desires simply do not understand that God really and truly is infinite. God is changeless and consistent. It is human beings who change. And the way we humans change is through the age-old cycle of discovery, comprehension, assimilation, and action. We are slowly — painfully slowly — discovering God’s higher ways. But our discoveries are not complete until they end in action, in a new and transformed way of living. If we really understood what God is like, we would not act the way we do. If we would give God all that we have, God will make us more than we are.
In matters of the spirit there is no such thing as “small stuff,” for the simple reason that everything we do originates deep within our character, takes origin in our primary level of faith and in our most profound and enduring level of commitment.
All of us are called upon to decide who we really are, what we stand for, and where we want to go. One of the great philosophical questions each of us will face is this: Does the end justify the means? For me the answer is clear: the end cannot, now or ever, justify the means for the simple reason that the nature of the means employed determines the quality of the ends produced. Ends and means do not belong to separate realms; they are in the same continuum. And I believe deep within my heart that the means are inseparably linked with the ends.
Having observed that the will of God extends to every possible action and decision, to every moment of being, the second insight this sentence reveals is that the will of God is the most liberating force in the universe. It could not be otherwise.
Has anybody ever said that Jesus was a robot? If Jesus held back nothing, if he attempted to harmonize even his smallest desires with the Father’s will, the result would either have been a complete automaton or the most completely liberated human being who ever lived. There can be no inbetween result. We know that Jesus, as a flesh-and-blood mortal of the realm, was able to achieve awesome levels of human growth. A person simply cannot achieve such levels of growth except through complete spiritual liberation. Any impediment to spiritual growth has the same effect as driving your car with the brake on all the time.
The vast majority of our brothers and sisters on this planet are still caught up in, and conceptually handicapped by, the ancient religious and philosophical error that says the ways of God are somehow limiting.
It is eternally true: the will of God always expands and never diminishes the human soul. God reaches into our hearts from the vast power of all infinity to fraternize with our newborn soul, and cradles it in the warmth and beauty of his love.
The vast majority of our brothers and sisters on this planet are still caught up in, and conceptually handicapped by, the ancient religious and philosophical error that says the ways of God are somehow limiting. They believe that if you give your life totally to God, that is the end of self-expression, the end of fun and pleasure, the end of relaxation and enjoyment. Somewhere in the idea of total commitment they see a permanent grimness, a life under the doleful harness of a tight and restrictive control, sort of like becoming a spiritual zombie. They see the will of God to mean maximum restraint, a goodie-two-shoes, glassy-eyed dullness that cannot take a meaningful part in the simple ups and downs of everyday life.
In the way Jesus lived his life we have come to know and understand that the will of God leads to maximum liberation. St. Augustine said, “Love God, and do as you please.” Jesus told us that the truth would make us free and the more truth we understand the more free we become.
That single sentence tells us that we can do the will of God at every moment, in every occupation, in every circumstance. The religious life is not a separate sphere of activity, it is the sphere of living in which all other activities subsist. We are full-time religionists no matter where we work or what we happen to be doing at the moment. There is no negative price to commitment. It is the pathway to true freedom, abundance, and joy!
This brings us to the third major correction: the need to act. Jesus helps us understand the necessity to act, to carry out the meanings of what we have discovered. Action is required simply because decisions cannot be consummated until we act. Progress cannot be achieved until we take action. Action is the completion of decision. Action clears the way for new discoveries. When Jesus came to understand how a simple small desire related to the harmony of the universe as expressed in his Father’s will, you can bet that he acted to conform his will to the Father’s will.
There is no doubt in my mind that the proper technique of studying the life of Jesus is to live his teachings — not merely to study them and thank God for them, but to live them. To act. The question is when? If we have not already started, when do we start?
I have wrestled with this question in my own life many times. My desire is to be totally committed and the desire is unwavering, but in the sweat and grind of daily living I know that I am holding back. There is constant tension between my level of desire and my level of commitment. God is ever gently leading me forward, making sure that as I take each step there will be no lingering doubts or backward glances. He is patient beyond words. He knows for a certainty that in time, and with his help there will be continued progress.
If we are uncertain, let us turn to Jesus for inspiration. We can trade our mind for the mind of Jesus and ask: If Jesus were here right now, living my life, standing in my shoes, what would he do? How would he proceed? What would he say?
People generally understand Jesus’ love, his mercy and compassion, his ministry. But in trading our mind for the mind of Jesus let us not forget that Jesus was also a person of resolute courage. He did not hesitate to rebuke even his closest associates when he saw that they were entering upon the pathways of cosmic error.
Let us act! Let us act as individuals and as a society. So what if we sometimes fail. What if we fail a thousand times if we know that when we at last succeed, we succeed forever.
Jesus sought the Father’s will even in his smallest desire. So can we.
Everett Sloffer is a long time reader of The Urantia Book and a resource consultant to the Journal.