© 2002 Micah Kruger
© 2002 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
Micah Kruger represents a bold new generation of Urantians who grew up with the Urantia Papers. This new generation does not hesitate to identify themselves as Urantians. They do not carry the baggage or guilt of typical Christian dogma. These young Urantians are a rich, untapped resource. They have much to say, and we should listen.
Larry Mullins
The Director of the Peace Corps once said about third world countries: “These people suffer so much, but they don’t call it suffering, they call it life.” That comment has always stuck with me. I grew up in a society ridden with complacency and affectation. After serving in the Peace Corps, I now find it disturbing to live in a society with so much opportunity yet where so few live up to the potential they have been given.
I first thought of joining the Peace Corps towards the end of my time at the University of Colorado. I was chatting with some friends who had applied to the Peace Corps and were waiting to hear where they’d be placed. I had wanted to travel after college, but the Peace Corps? It had never crossed my mind. It would be an opportunity to see some of the world and serve my fellow men and women. It would be a great adventure, a real test of what I was made of.
A generation ago, the Vietnam War was a great challenge for men my age. Now, in my generation, young men and women have the opportunity to choose their future. In considering the Peace Corps, I was reminded of Jesus’ journeys as Ganid’s tutor. During that time, Jesus was able to observe how people of different cultures lived, and through his observations came to understand more thoroughly the minds of men.
The idea of the Peace Corps sounded better and better. I submitted my application and went through the selection process. Eventually this decision led me to spend 27 months living in a country I knew almost nothing about.
By means of experiences I would never have had living in the States, my time in Guatemala changed me in ways I could not have imagined. The challenge of learning a new language, culture, and living a simpler life was thrilling. In retrospect, realizing how much I actually learned, I am aware that the learning curve was much more difficult than I would have thought. From the perspective of living in the States, I am rarely reminded of the realities of life in Guatemala. However, when I think back upon my months of service there, I do have new insights into our American culture.
What I miss most about Guatemala was having the opportunity to serve on a daily basis. Indeed, as a volunteer it was my job to serve. But I had no boss, no funding, and no concrete plan to keep me going. I was forced to be self-motivated and was driven only by my desire to help.
Not surprisingly, as there were so many ways to help in such a needy country, serving came easily. Gestures as simple as helping my neighbor haul sacks of supplies for his household store became daily habits for me.
Now, back in the States, my life seems largely barren of daily service. It was so easy to serve in Guatemala because there were so many people who actually wanted my help. Opportunities for service also arose because the people were so much more connected. While occasionally the need to serve seemed almost a nuisance, I now realize that the time I spent in a crowded bus, boat, or marketplace created precious and genuine contact with humanity. As a result, I forged many relationships, and thus came to better understand how people thought and lived.
The other day, sitting in my car at a red light, I found myself surrounded by other individuals, each in his or her separate car. We were so close, but still completely separated in our own metal boxes. Too much in our modern society has cut us off from each other.
Instead of speaking face to face we talk on phones; instead of handwritten greetings we send electronic messages that are all but devoid of the human touch. In our fast paced society people often try to communicate as little as possible. Take the gas station: one doesn’t even have to say “hi” to the service station clerk, for there’s the “pay outside” option; at the supermarket we now have “self check.”
Or why even leave the house at all? Everything we need can be bought on-line. Our superior information technology has left us more disconnected than ever before.
In Guatemala, it was not uncommon to have a stranger invite you for lunch. In many cases, several generations of a family lived in the same home. One of my chief occupations in Guatemala was building stoves for the people there. But, I not only built stoves but also made connections. I can say with confidence I had at least one meal with each family I worked with. People there had mutual interest in each other’s lives. In contrast, in the United States, one would hardly think to invite the cable person or plumber for lunch!
I became intimately acquainted with Guatemalan culture and its many problems: political, economic, and social. Yet, perhaps the most valuable experience has been an intensified awareness of an acute level of complacency, apathy, and affectation that is present in American society.
I do believe a strength of our culture is that it rewards creativity and individualism, and these ideals have made this country great. However, the goal of individuality has too often become to acquire belongings that will project a desired image. Possessions have often come to function as ends in themselves, rather than simply a means to an end. And too many people put more energy into affectation than they do into their own spiritual growth.
It saddens me to see so many people who can hardly make basic changes in their lives when they live in a country so full of opportunity. We do not need to join the Peace Corps to realize that we can do quite literally most anything we can dream.
Some Urantians have found empowerment to dream and aspire through “Living the Teachings” groups. These groups hold each member responsible for their own spiritual progress, just as an AA member is responsible for his or her sobriety. In turn, these people have learned, by means of spiritual progress, to realize their goals as well as tackle their fears.
The Urantia Book says that few people are real thinkers, and largely out of fear, most of us fail to live up to the potential we have inside. Fear fosters affectation, apathy, and compliance and leads people to accept the way things are.
I am reminded of a seminar I attended at the Fellowship’s International Conference last summer. The seminar was about “Going the Second Mile.” Similar to a “Living the Teachings” group, the seminar sought to motivate people to realize what characteristics were keeping their true potential from flowering. I was astonished to see how many readers were actually breaking down crying in realization of the fear and doubt they were living with, shocked by the new awareness of their lack of real trust in the Father’s plan. The Urantia Papers tell us that belief becomes faith only when it alters the mode of living. The people who attended this seminar certainly believed in the revelation of the Book, but they had not yet achieved the faith required to be truly born of the spirit. It was a reawakening for many Urantians at the seminar.
Of course, like everyone else, I too have fears and doubts. I was terrified my first day in Guatemala, but I continually faced my fears. I am my own toughest critic, because one of my biggest fears is that I am not living up to my full potential.
This self-criticism motivates me in the struggle towards God’s command, “be perfect even as I am perfect.” It is easy to become complacent about the condition of things and to blindly follow society’s norms. Affectation is often used by people to mask their passivity and complacency. I encourage you to break the mold, to do what scares you, and to fulfill your potential. Keep striving; if not for yourself, for the little girl in Guatemala who can only look forward to a future of hand-washing clothes and flipping tortillas for a family of six.
Micah Kruger is 25 and lives in Boulder, Colorado. He is one of a new generation of Urantia Book readers who grew up with the Book. Micah did not disclose it in his article, but one of the service projects he is now engaged in is forming a Urantia Youth Group in Boulder. Micah can be reached at krugermquat@hotmail.com