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As Gentle Survivalists, we know that all truth emanates from one source our
Heavenly Father. Whatever our path, or road of return, truth is truth, and can only
bring us closer to the light. We learn truth upon truth and line upon line, until we
have a sure foundation from which to continue our eternal progression and education.
God is eternal, His laws are eternal, and He has instructed us, through His Son, the
prophets and wise teachers to become more like Him.
Each time we learn a new truth and internalize it as an active principle within
our being, it is as though we pass through a locked door. Having used a key of
knowledge to open that door, the requirements for opening the next door are a little
easier to grasp.
So what stops or dams our salmon-like return to the light from whence we came?
Does God stop us, or do we stop ourselves? I feel that God has nothing to do with
damning us . . . that we are quite capable of doing ourselves in with very little
assistance. The hard question is: Why do we continually sabotage our own progress?
Perhaps it has something to do with upsetting our comfort zone. When the Spirit of
Truth confirms the veracity of a new principle or path to our hearts, logic immediately
reminds us of the high price of acceptance, the responsibilities and sacrifices that will
inevitably be part of the package. At this point, many turn away in sorrow, denying
their own potential for growth. Sadly, those who deny these manifestations of truth
because of peer pressure, societal, familial or other cultural influences have
damned/dammed their own possibility for success and fulfillment as surely as any
dam building engineer, with monster machines and hard hats could.
In the past, our ancestors faced a lot of hard, sweaty physical labor. Things were
clearer cut and the consequences for straying from the straight and narrow were swift and
socially painful. After a physically exhausting day’s work to support one’s family, few
had the energy or inclination to head for town and look for trouble or alternative
lifestyles. Family members needed each other and felt their responsibilities keener when
the government was not there with a welfare safety net.
Today, thanks to the sacrifices of those who went before, we enjoy a high standard of
living in America, with timesaving devices and imported luxuries catered to us from around
the world. These blessings, it appears, are turning us into a nation of obese TV watchers
and web surfers who devote several hours per day at the altar of entertainment and mass
communication.
In addition, our accelerated communication age inundates us with endless advisors and
relationship counselors all clamoring for our attention and business. Experienced in
marketing concepts and televised advertising, these professionals know what people need
and want to hear. Through careful study of human behavior, the use of psychological
leading techniques, and often the misuse of God-given gifts, these experts acquire
substantial personal data about individuals, gaining access to their confidence and money.
The hidden realities they purport to intuit and reveal are illusional, at best, for the
real price was never paid. Truth and the path to future self-actualization cannot
be purchased with cold cash, but are only acquired the traditional way . . . through
arduous discipline and spiritual quests of self-denial.
What do the scriptures say about truth as a prepackaged consumer item in these latter
days? In 2 Timothy Ch.4: 3-4, we read, For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears. And they shall turn away their hearts from the truth and be turned unto
fables.
In other words, the Apostle Paul foresaw that people living close to the time of the
end of the world, (as we know it), will be in a state of denial. They will not want to
pay the real price for truth and divine inspiration, which includes among other things:
sincerity, study, pure motives, meditation, purification, humility, fasting, repentance
and dedication to internalizing new truth. These folks with itching ears will look for
teachers who offer quick and easily digested answers through seminars, books and tapes;
where for a price, they can be spoon-fed teachings that complement their own lack of
dedication to correct principles or the commandments of God. Almost all codified law is
drawn from the basic teachings of love and respect contained within the ten commandments.
If we all loved our neighbors as ourselves, there would be no need for the myriad of
confusing laws on the books or for most advisors who ply their wares through the media.
Paul, when speaking to the philosophically inclined Greeks, also commented on their
shallow acceptance of knowledge and inability to internalize new truths, characterizing
them as ever learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. Little of
humankind’s lazy nature appears to have changed with the passing of 2,000 years.
In our busy technological and instant gratification society, folks have little
patience and even less self-discipline. Split-second information retrieval systems spoil
and mislead them into assuming truth and awareness is just another commodity that can be
bought and sold. The enterprising teachers that Paul foresaw in the latter days are all
around us enticing us from TV and Internet with channeled readings and psychick
friends for sale, with a smattering of the male variety thrown in for good measure. From
the back pages of magazines and tabloids they offer their services as astrology, numerology,
love, finance, and success advisors . . . but always for a price. At every turn we are
confronted by awareness experts who are ever so concerned about sharing their
techniques with the unenlightened. Naturally, they offer advanced courses to those adepts
who are ready to delve deeper into the mysteries of the universe . . . (and their
bank accounts!)
This is not to deny that there are those born with ESP or gifts of spiritual
discernment. Most such gifted persons are busy right now . . . solving crimes for
police departments, locating lost children, doing genealogical research, offering
healing therapy or communicating with distressed people or animals that cannot help
themselves. Being blessed with spiritual insight or gifts means the focus of their
existence is service to God and their fellow beings; they would be engaged in their
particular callings whether paid or not. Most such gifted facilitators, saints, or
teachers wisely accept only modest donations, token payments or regular salary. The
last thing they want to do is make a profit from the people they are helping. They
already feel over paid by the light and love that flows through them.
Kahlil Gibran, the beloved Lebanese poet said, Work is love made visible. This
is a clear example of a truth that can only be claimed by adherence to the law that
states we must love and serve others if we want to be happy. Those who believe they
can buy awareness and the mysteries of God will see their purchases slip through their
fingers and be worse off than before for having taken sacred things so lightly. God has
said that He will not be mocked.
Most of us, being human, take detours from the light, believing alluring voices
that tempt us with shortcuts to enlightenment. The pure in heart, however, soon acknowledge
they are lost . . . and need to get out the map and get back on the right road. God has
lovingly provided the maps if we will but humble ourselves enough to read them.
Try to put well into practice what you already know; In so doing, you will, in good time,
discover the hidden things which you now inquire about.
- Rembrandt
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