Work

It is through work that Father helps all of us to bring good out of bad. The capacity to participate in spiritual
creation is within all of you. In fact, this special ability of spiritual creativity is an important part of your
destiny as imperfectly created beings.

A perfectly created being, in a sense, follows a perfect, program, but a perfect program is not so creative. Why not? Because far less work is required on the part of a perfect being to follow a perfect program compared to that effort that must be expended by the imperfect, striving for spiritual growth toward perfection. This is because the imperfect is ever working to turn bad or imperfect into good or perfect.

Now what is that quality of Deity that makes this possible? Faith, truth, goodness, beauty, service, and other areas in this line. These qualities are outworkings of Deity. They are the tools, as you know, that are given to you from Paradise through your indwelling Adjuster that enable you to turn good from bad and, as you
progress in your journeyman's task of mastering use of these tools in your present environment, you are
always assisted by the unseen instructors who are about. You only need to ask. And it is important to realize that the worse the situation, or the more bad in it, the greater the potential to turn good.

A great artist can indeed fashion a wonderful and beauteous work of art from a tiny bit of metal or stone, but it is a wonder indeed to make good a large chunk of granite or marble or a large pile of wood, is it not? Bad is the creative material that you are given to work as an artisan. If there were no bad, how could you ever help Father to create good of it?

You see, it is work to create good from bad - hard, arduous, painful, exhausting, demanding work - like all service, you will find, as you move from stage to stage over the eons. Blessed is the man who embraces his work with hands and approaches it with a joyous attitude. Blessed is he who works for the love of God. Blessed is he who works with little complaint but with a song in his heart and peace in his mind. And blessed is he who gets others to work.

These are all lessons brought here through Jesus, and indeed he was a wonderful example of this concept. Was there ever a minute of any day during his mortal life here that he did not work? And yet it is not Jesus who spoke of suffering of His own, nor was He ever heard to complain. Ever did He describe the qualities of work in positive and service-oriented terms, did He not?

My friends, work is not something that you are born learning and knowing how to do. You must learn how to work, and one of the very important tasks of your mortal lifetime on this planet is to learn how to work as well as you possibly can. And yet it will always be true that the more adept you become at working, the more work will be presented to you. The idea of retirement is a myth, if one has truly learned to work.

By working as well as you can, not only do you serve Father and advance the growth of His teachings on this planet, but you also, unknown to you though it may be, lead and inspire others. Believe me, this is
quite powerful. When the times of Light and Life come to this planet, beings will spend their whole waking existence in work. It will not be the backbreaking toil to which you have become accustomed and which serves as part of your connotation of work. But it will be effort, and it will be tiring, and it will require strength, perseverance and faith.

Yes, Deity can easily transform bad, imperfect, into good, perfect, instantaneously - or even prevent it from occurring in the first place. But that would not be as creative as the present manifestation in which beings such as yourselves work to transform your own imperfections in the direction of perfect and good. Your persistence and devotion in your work is much admired by those who observe, and the good feeling that you receive as you accomplish the goals of your work chores is a direct reward from Father.

That good feeling is something to be cherished and it grows as your spirit grows, perceives. As you work and grow toward Paradise, that feeling will grow, too. And, to use your jargon, it is most addictive. So one might say that the transformation of bad to good is the accomplishment of addicts, in a sense.

R = Rayson the teacher, S = Students.

Question: I understand through the Urantia Book that the purpose of the physical universe is to make something spiritual out of something physical. Is that a simplistic way of putting it? Is that basically correct?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And that in order to create spiritual qualities, there has to be the possibility for - on the spiritual
level - evil, but - on the physical level - bad. Am I correct in that?

Answer: Yes, there must be the potential for error.

The following question occurred on 11/13/93, eleven days after the burning of two students' home in the Malibu fires.

Question: And the recent fire - the burning of the buildings - was, in itself, not spiritually evil, but physically
disastrous or bad, is that correct?

A: Yes.

Q: And our response to that situation, all of our responses, are spiritual in nature in addition to physical in nature. But they're the stuff out of which spiritual reality is created. Is that correct?

A: Yes, you understand well, and do you know the next corollary, my dear? Once you have replaced that which was lost, you will have a more complete understanding of - a better sense of perspective - regarding that which is physical. You will see that the important parts of yourself have not been harmed at all, but indeed will have increased. Do you understand?

Q: Yes, I think so. The “Ventola” [painting] which was lost will never, never be replaced, but it can be substituted for by our attitude of acceptance. Is that correct?

A: Yes. You retain your creative spirit regardless of the physical presence of canvas, paint, or printed page. And the vision that one man was privileged to experience and have the physical talent to describe on canvas has already been imprinted on your minds.

Q: Rayson, while you were talking about work I couldn't help but think that Jesus used the illustration of servants more than He used any other illustration. I presume there was a reason for this.

A: Yes, yet indeed He Himself acted as servant on many occasions. What other word than “servant” would you use for the one whose life is spent in service?

Q: He was “the suffering servant” that was predicted in the Old Testament.

A: Yes, indeed, and those who would follow Him also.

Q: I think I understand the nature of the ascension plan, that Vince Ventola and my mother and others who have survived would not be aware any longer of loss or fear. So Vinny would not suffer the loss of his created work, nor would my mother be aware of things that were hers that were treasured that no longer exist in the material form, because they would be involved in spiritual activities. Is that correct?

A: Yes, yes that is true. They gave freely and with love and with no expectation of any continuing attachment to those physical items. And further, to use an analogy that I believe you will understand, those are remnants of the womb to them in their present states. What think you of your placenta?

S: It was thrown away and discarded after it had served its purpose.

S2: I just want to say that I'm experiencing what you speak of with work. I'm an addict, and like it quite well. I'm working at this in art. Thank you.

R: You are welcome. It is most pleasurable to feel the bright light of Father's love with your effort. Is it not?

S: It's wonderful.

R: And unlike physical addiction there is no development of tolerance or waning of the effort, is there?

S: No. You want to do it more. (Yes.) And it is hard.

R: Yes. Do you not notice however that others are drawn to you? S: Yes. And I look forward to that like my friend (S).

R: Good is so much more attractive to animal mind than is bad that it takes only a very small bit of it to light the darkness and lead the way. Do not be discouraged by the seeming dearth of others who share your philosophy. Each one is a pinpoint of light, and the cumulative effect of the pinpoints is powerful and impressive, indeed. At a higher level of being, the pinpoints are easily perceived even from great distance, and this helps us to assist you when you call for help.

Heightened curiosity is yet another element of the subtle change in your mind-thought that occurs when you take a spiritual step forward in your own personal development. The Urantia Book describes the time of
Light and Life as a period during which very little work would be done with much leisure remaining. 
Understand, my friends, that at the time the Urantia Book information was handed down and transcribed, there were many difficult decisions to be made regarding syntax and other linguistic details. For the animal mind outworking of intellect is fastidious in its highest development when linguistic considerations arise.

That is to say, the masters who oversaw the project wished to have as little ambiguity as possible in the language used in the body of the papers themselves. And yet it was understood that these papers would stand for many generations as reference material, and language does indeed change through time. So the decision was taken to use the language that was the most formal for the very time period during which the book was indicted, because formal usage is less susceptible to change, particularly frivolous idiomatic change, than is casual usage. And so when the matter of work was discussed, the linguistic value assigned to the word “work” was that of the earlier period of that century of your time. That is, labor of the body, primarily physical with relatively little spiritual content, somewhat more intellectual content, what you presently would call toil. And it is indeed true that at the time of Light and Life relatively little time in the life of a given mortal individual will be spent in toil, physical labor.

Again, the word “leisure”, at the time of the indictment of the papers, included those activities in which energy is expended toward spiritual growth. And thus the leisure time of Light and Life, using that linguistic value of the word leisure will be worship.

Who can ever truly grasp the full meaning of worship, but Father Himself? Even those who have journeyed to Paradise state that in some ways their knowledge of worship is less than they ever thought. And it is at that point, of course, that one fully grasps the necessity for an eternity of time to learn to worship Father properly.

At your stage of development, my friends, worship is at its beginning. You are taking the first cautious steps of the baby from the crawling posture to the upright in terms of your worship activities, moving from the animal considerations of self, the intellectual considerations of ego, to the spiritual considerations of the cosmos. This is indeed hard work, as all of you know, and yet so critical. And you must walk before you can run.

So too must your spiritual growth stumble and fall and falter in the basic concepts of right and wrong before you will be able to walk with confidence toward your destinies. This is hard work, very hard work, and it does not end with this life. You might say that to extend our analogy, you barely learn to walk spiritually by the end of a full term of human life. You learn to run while on the mansion worlds if you work very, very hard and spend many thousands of years in intense effort. And the delightful part is yet beyond that where you learn to fly, steps beyond. And all of this work, my dear friends, is worship: the doing of the will of Father, moving through the darkness, the uncertainty of imperfect creation, groping, despairing, crying out.

This is what Jesus came to your beloved planet to experience for Himself. Can you imagine how it must have been for Him to descend from a state of physical existence that is not even imaginable to you, far beyond light, continuous communication with Paradise, to descend from that down to the level of a helpless babe of imperfect creation? Humbling indeed, and much, much hard work for Him, as it is for you.

As you become more skilled at the craft of worship, and progress from crawling to walking to running and beyond, you will be intensely gratified. The sense of wonder that one experiences with the increasing pace of growth that attends spirit striving, spirit work, and spirit growth, is far beyond any pleasurable sensation imaginable to an animal.

Some have mused about mating activity in the animal state, and its possible correlate at existences beyond the earthbound level. Do you not see that the intense - to you - pleasure that you receive from your mating instinct and its gratification is quite small in comparison to the true joy of spirit experience?

You may say, “But how can I call such work with such reward anything but 'play' or 'leisure'? Why work?” Because, my friends, it is more consuming of effort than anything else you have ever experienced or shall ever experience. The reward of joy, of peace, of wisdom, you might liken to those instincts which have been planted in you as an animal descendant. Your instincts on this planet, to eat, to sleep, to reproduce, not only work for your survival, but also enable you to experience pleasure, do they not?

So too it is with the worship urge. Hard, hard, work it is to walk toward Father, intense hard work. And yet once you have firmly committed yourself on this road without question, without doubt, that spirit instinct to work and worship and grow toward Paradise will become stronger and stronger, and its gratification will yield the spirit correlate of what you call pleasure.

R = Rayson the teacher, S = Students.

S:  I would like to hear you comment for just a few moments on the application of mental effort to a problem, whether or not that is work, and whether those who don't do manual labor but who work with
ideas and correspondence and things of that nature are actually working. I know the answer's yes, but I
would like to hear you explain what it is about this that has now encroached upon the definition of work.

R: Yes, certainly. You may recall that the mindal components of animal brain function are dual on this planet, the physical out-workings and the intellectual out-workings, and as this planet and its cultures evolve, work which is done and the definition of work will evolve also. The most rudimentary form of work which occurs in the most primitive of human cultures encompasses those efforts which are required to barely survive, which, of course, is food gathering, protection of the young, procreation and mating, and shelter from elements and other threatening environmental factors. The next step involves the development of tools and other technological adjuncts through the first use of intellect. But at this stage still work is primarily physical.

As the culture evolves there is more and more of intellectual work and less and less of physical work. And then in a normal planet of imperfect creation there will be that wonderful time at which the first of the spirit work begins to show on a cultural level. On this planet - because of interference with the plan - the period of time that has elapsed since that first bit of spirit work in the life of the average Earth mortal showed and now has been so long. And the advancement has been so small by the accepted standards of the universes.

Nonetheless that fragment of spirit work is there, but it is quite small now. During this last century of your time, the proportion of intellectual work to physical work has widened greatly for many, many persons in your culture and, indeed, over the planet at large. And just recently we have been most gratified to see a definite increase in the proportion of spiritual work undertaken by the great mass of Earth mortals.

This may seem like a long-winded answer to your question, but the short answer is that yes, of course,
intellectual effort is very much work. As time passes on your planet, in future times, physical work will
become more or less extinct, and the notion of toil will be applied increasingly to intellectual effort, and
the notion of leisure to pure spirit development. But there will come the day that there will be widespread realization that spiritual effort is indeed work.

S: The Master, when He was here, had a group of apostles who did what we would call work and there were time - at least once a week, maybe twice a week - when they ceased work and enjoyed leisure. I would expect that even during their leisure they worked at least a little, but I would like a comment on the relationship between work and leisure.

R: Well, at the time that the Urantia Book was indited, the formal understanding of the word “work” included mainly physical toil, but also an element of the intellectual toil to which you alluded just now, and the syntax use of the word “leisure” included rest activities such as sleep, nourishment activities such as eating, and worship activities, so leisure did not primarily refer to worship. But worship was considered to be leisure, definitely.

S: How about play, or - as the apostles went - fishing?

R: It is during what you call “play” that very much spiritual work is accomplished. That is why the reversion directors play such an important role in later activities in your existences. In a sense you could say that they guide your play. But, my friends, do you not see that worship is indeed play?

S: I hadn't thought of it that way.

R: What you call fun now is just a glimmer of what you will feel about worship increasingly as you progress in your spiritual growth. Do you think that Father in Paradise does not enjoy Himself?

S: I certainly hope He does. I think it's rather interesting that the word “recreation” means recreation.

R: But re-creation of what?

S: Yes, re-creation of energies to work is what I would think. Re-creation, a new beginning.

R: And perhaps re-creation of the perfect from the imperfect. Have you not had at least one acquaintance in your life whom you enjoyed because they were so playful? (Yes, yes.) Then imagine how Jesus must have been perceived. Think of children shortly after the arrival of the Thought Adjuster. Is there not a marked increase in the desire to play?

S: I hadn't observed it, but now that you called it to my attention I know that it exists.

R: To work at play, rather than passively allowing play to occur - if you view it in those terms - you may begin to remember in your life and the lives of your progeny. And yet so many allow the playful spirit to drain away, and be replaced by rage, fear, greed and pride. The extirpation of those qualities from your mindal activity will create space in a recreational way for the playful spirit of worship to enter. And you will leap forward in your worship skills when you undertake that housecleaning within.

Q: I'd like to know what you do personally for recreation.

A: At my stage of education, I guess you would call it; I spend a proportion of my time under tutelage of experienced reversion directors. Their company is most refreshing and the reversion directors with whom I work are most gracious in guiding me in my play. We have a lot of what you would call “fun” together. And it is, for this time in my existence, very much like the play of a human child, in the sense that I expend large quantities of energy in a seemingly effortless fashion. I always leave these encounters feeling replenished. Additionally, I am assigned periods of time for contemplation, meditation, visitation to what for my level you might consider to be a garden, a place of peace. You may recall that Jesus engaged in such activity while on your planet. These periods of time are also part of my education and like all my activities are closely monitored and recorded so that I shall not ascend to the next administrative level until I have accomplished all of those growth tasks which are appropriate for this phase of my being.

Q: You say that you are under the tutelage of reversion directors. They are teaching you the most enjoyable ways to relax and refresh yourself?

A: I would say that they are teaching me the most efficient ways to improve my worship skills and by improving my efficiency in that manner, I achieve what you call “relaxation”.

You all understand, to some extent, what the concept of work means in the spiritual sense, and you understand that it is separate from play, recreation, and yet shares some qualities with worship, prayer.

You may be asking yourselves now “How can work and beauty possibly have anything in common?” Is not beauty that which, when passively beheld, brings forth a joyous and loving response in the one whose senses are thus stimulated? How can this be in any way related to work with its implied ordeal? How can any ordeal, after all, be beautiful?

You are correct in your perception that work - not only in your present state but all the way to Paradise
and beyond - is difficult, challenging, sometimes disappointing, and sometimes painful. And yet, you all
do truly know that it is Father's will for us to work, as even He does. Therefore to work is to follow Father's plan and His will for us and for all of His creatures of higher mind.

You may recall that all things of Father's creation are by definition beautiful, and indeed all qualities of
Father's are beautiful, and all acts which are in harmony with the will of Father are beautiful. So you see,
my friends, when you work at that task which you may despise and curse and sweat and struggle - as
difficult as it may be to believe - you are engaging in a thing of beauty.

Father smiles on he who works without let up, with little complaint, even with joy in his heart. Father is pleased when the one who is reluctant makes a valiant effort and toils nonetheless. And it is indeed true that the angels rejoice when you successfully complete a piece of work over which you have striven mightily.

My friends, as you go forth and become teachers in the future, it will be a very effective, thought-provoking and spirit lead act for you to discuss the merits of work and the beautiful aspect of work with your fellow mortals. You will find that this often will be most difficult and challenging for you.

Indeed, it will be hard work. But it is most important as we untie the snarled knots wrought by Lucifer and Caligastia and their followers who promised life everlasting without pain or difficulty, and appealed to the animal mind which seeks always to avoid discomfort. If you can undo this by expressing - in your own individual and unique way - the beauty in work, so that your fellows have a chance to understand, you will be doing much to further the cause of this mission and others to come. Yes, there is much beauty in work.

Is there work without beauty? Is there beauty without work? I would say, at this stage in your universe existence, the answer to both questions is probably no. You may ask, “But what of the wonders of God's creation that I may be privileged to glimpse with relatively little effort?” That beauty did not come about without effort being expended, did it? No, much energy was used in the creation of that beauty. If you would create beauty yourself, you must toil mightily.

To view beauty may indeed afford pleasure, but pleasure at perceiving beauty is not the same as beauty
itself, and this, too, is a place where much confusion arises on this planet regarding the subject of beauty. Can beauty be possessed? Can you acquire it at the market place? Can you own it, enslave it, contain it in a box, and ship it abroad? In the spiritual sense, no. What you understand materially as beauty is a quite different thing than the beauty as expressed by God, created by God, and created by God's co-creators in their spiritual toil. And yet you all do know beauty when you see it, do you not?

It has been said that in the presence of great beauty the mind is still and brought to peace, and all of us who journey Paradise-ward are reminded of that, in a broader sense, when discussing how it will be to
stand in the presence of God. You can sample a very tiny fragment of this when you behold God's magnificent creations - what you call natural beauty in your culture - the beauty of a bright spirit in another whom you behold, and that feeling of accomplishment, that good feeling that you achieve when you have done a job well, is also part of that feeling. Think about that, and do you not agree that it is a sense of peace within?

And yet, there have been those in your planet's past who asserted that what we have just discussed does
not exist, and there are many on this planet even today who still believe that. You can see how that has affected your planet, can you not?

Question: I remembered while you were talking that probably the most used concept in Jesus' parables was that of master and servant, with the servant being extolled for faithful service. I believe that He asks each of us to be first servants and then sons and daughters of our Father. This, of course, requires work on our part. I've heard it said that there is no such thing as a menial task, there are only menial people. I believe the first half of that, I'm not sure about the second half. I wonder if you would comment on what I just said?

A: Yes, that is a most thoughtful question, and I thank you. In the ideal circumstance on a planet of imperfect creation, there will evolve family units which eventually will be patriarchal in nature and on a very small scale will imitate the grand structure of the cosmos. It is staggering perhaps to consider this, and yet it certainly is a most sensible model. In the family model of which I speak there is a strong, loving, creative, honest, giving, loyal, good father at the head. And his partner is a loving, loyal, obedient, kind, nurturing, benevolent mother. The children are obedient, and, as their parents, hard-working, honest, eager to learn, service-driven, as are their parents, good. You may recall that Jesus the man frequently compared mortal man to a child, often spoke of children did he not? (S: Yes)

You are the children in God's family, all of you who reside on planets of imperfect creation, even as you serve as parents in your own families to your own children. How would you want your child to be? You would like your child to be good, and yet to work within his capacity toward perfection and independence. And the best way to ensure that his will happen is to yourself be a good child to your heavenly Father. Your child will naturally imitate your example.

As far as your second question regarding menial service and menial people, you correctly understand that God does not regard any of His children as menial. He is not even disappointed as a human father might be when time-related performance appears to be deficient. His love shines forth everlasting, without pause, and the good child of God knows when he has acted well and in accord with His Father's wishes because it is inherent in the cosmos that by behaving in accord with Father's wishes, you draw closer to Father. And that is a more rewarding experience than any other could possibly be. So the one that may be called, in human terms, a “menial person” might, in spiritual terms, be seen as one who is somewhat less close to God.

My dear friends, from the moment that you are conceived, and forever after, you are engaged in work activity involving expenditure of effort, struggle, meeting challenges again and again. Ever will there be more, and, yes, failure - but also success - for such is the course of existence for those of us created imperfect. It is part of our endowment, our gift from Father, to be imperfect, this sometimes causes pain and regret in us. That is the beginning of the dislike for work that occurs in mortal creatures of imperfect creation.

It is this that Lucifer and Caligastia seized upon and so skilfully used as a potent force in their rebellion, emphasizing to imperfect mortals that pain and struggle were truly not necessary, because, after all, Father could easily make all things possible and perfect. This lead to much anger and resentment on this and other planets, and indeed in the mansion worlds there was also great turmoil related to this issue. It will take you many eons, much study, and experiential growth before you begin to understand fully Father's true wisdom in creating imperfection.

For now it must be an article of faith for you to accept this as a benefit of Father's love, a true asset. Now, my friends, the visceral response that all of you experience at the thought of painful and arduous work is an animal thing which most unfortunately has been much magnified through the devious activities of the rebels, and you will not be rid of this for the remainder of your mortal life on on this world, I am sorry to say. However, I will attempt to help you to understand some of Father's motives and reasons for endowing you with work, which may well help you to accept the discomfort that you have when faced with work and modify your own inner attitudes and those of others by your example.

You may recall that Jesus declared that He was here to do His Father's work. In fact, the word “work” was one used very much by Jesus during His time here, and this was no accident, for an important part of His time here was the work of restoring worship and diverting some of the more heinous results of the rebellion. In this He succeeded through mighty effort, and even today you can feel it within yourselves, can you not? Do you not sense that joy of worship of Father within you?

Before this planet embarks upon the final stage toward the emergence of Light and Life, you mortals will have the same sense of joy regarding work that you now - some of you, the more advanced - experience as a part of your worship activities.

I know it is difficult to imagine at this stage, but the way that this will come about will be through, initially, faith-motivated acceptance of work as a worship activity and later, when spiritual evolution has moved forward  there will be more Thought Adjuster connectedness added to faith to reinforce each individual's knowledge of work as worship.

My friends, all of Father's qualities are united. They are not discreet entities. You cannot separate love from goodness or from truth or from beauty or worship or service, just as you do not see discrete rays of the sun. Whenever your actions are in any way in accord with Father's will, they are in all ways in accord with His will. So as you go forth in your work activities, whatever they may be, please understand that you are worshiping Father in your toil and effort and struggle. You are learning skills that you will use for the whole of your existence in the cosmos, for you will be working forever, and it will come to be the most exciting, joyous and loving activity imaginable for you at some point in your universe career.

It may seem inconceivable to you, but there will be a time when recreation will be almost an annoyance to you because you will be anxious to get back to your work. I regret to say that I myself have not yet reached that point.

So, my friends, again it comes down to faith, does it not? For now you must accept on faith that work is a God-directed activity and is blessed and contributes mightily to your own personal growth and contributes mightily to the forward movement of the spirituality of this planet.

Teach your children to love work. Be an example to your friends and neighbors of one who loves work. You may complain, but they know by watching that you are working, and you must therefore embrace your work activities, and when they see you thrive, the inescapable conclusion will be that it is a result of not only work but of your loving and worshipful attitude regarding your work. And this will be a strong motivator to your neighbors to imitate you in this way. So you will be doing Father's work, you see, like Jesus, a co-creator with Father. And what could be better than that?

R = Rayson the teacher, S = Students.

Question: I have heard the proverb, “An idle mind is the devil's workshop.” Would you care to discuss work as it pertains to the mind?

Answer: Yes, certainly. When you work, there is no part of you that is idle, not your body, nor your mind, nor your spirit. And your Thought Adjuster is present supervising and available for guidance, as are your Seraphim and other assistants. However, when one is idle, the opposite may occur, particularly if lack of work activity persists for a long period. Why should the Thought Adjuster continue to make efforts when there is no reciprocity on the part of the mortal, no effort? Why should the seraphim continue to suggest and advise when the ears are deaf and the eyes are unseeing?

The idle one walks away from all that Father has constructed in the way of assistance, and in this condition it is unfortunately easy to turn fully away from Father, or as pagans might say, toward the devil. The one who is not engaged in work with idle mind, body, and spirit may choose to become involved in non-worship activities, non-work activities, that is iniquity. That is the meaning of your proverb.

Question: What about those people who for whatever reasons aren't able to work? I'm thinking of people incapacitated, or those who have reached a stage in life and are very elderly, that for whatever reason now no longer seem to be able to work. It made me think about concepts that would enable them to do more. We seem to have a society that wants to get people out of work when they get older. It's real painful.

Answer: Have you not noticed how often material death follows?

S:  Yes. I want to tell you of my own personal experience. My father worked until he was 82, and I think it was one of the key factors of his longevity, plus his excitement and thrill. Everything you said about what work provides, my father benefited from by continuing to work. He never ceased to work until he was forced to by a fatal disease. I can see the transformation constantly in his life, which has been a real example to me, and I guess maybe an example for all of us. So I really appreciate what you've been saying today.

R: Yes. Thank you.

Question:  Rayson, this has been a particularly inspiring lesson for me because it explains why, when one
retires from one activity of work, there is this urging to seek out something else. Would the creative activity of making gifts for people, of creating things, writing poetry, music, and handcrafts be classified as a work activity, even though it's so pleasant to engage in?

Answer: Yes, if the motivation is God-directed. Yes, of course.

Question: In other words, if one is using the time as dedicated to creativity because one feels the need to be doing something as a part of God's plan, wouldn't that be what you're leading to there?

Answer: Yes, if your activities involve carrying out God's will and have the qualities of goodness and truth and beauty and love, of course, that is worshipful work and very acceptable.

Question: OK, because when you retire from one thing there's a sense of “I ought to be doing something else.” And not just the routine survival things, but something that contributes something. I have this other question about another phase of the lesson. You mentioned that one of the qualities of Father was worship, and I assume with regard to Father that is the characteristic of Him that inspires worship in others. Does Father worship anything or any being? Or is it because of His worshipful quality that that's a characteristic of Him?

Answer: Father worships everything that exists in the cosmos. Do you not see the care with which He has
created everything that is?

S: Yes, I just never thought of that as being worship, but of love and caring. I can see that as a characteristic of worship. Thank you, that clears it up.

R: Father is always and ever a partner with you, if you care to join Him and share His qualities. He always, always extends His hand to you. You have only to reach up and grasp His.

S: That's a quality that's very hard to transmit to a non-believer. We have a friend at our church who is very much in need of that sort of belief but seems very resistant to faith. My prayer is that we be given every assistance to help her get past that stage and know how loving and caring Father is.

R: Is she a loving person?

S: I'm afraid not. I'm afraid that somewhere in her life she had a deprivation of love, so it's an, experience she's not altogether familiar with.

R: Perhaps she has merely made a conscious choice to take the other path, and in this case it may be
non-productive for you to pursue her. She is capable of making her own decisions?

S: Oh, yes. They may not be very wise sometimes, but she's very able. It seems she clings to the negative, and we would like to help her get beyond that.

R: You cannot help her to make her own free will decisions.

S: Just love her and hope that with that experience she can eventually turn around?

R: Protect yourself.

S: Yes, I've noticed the need for that, I'm sorry to say.

R: Well, there need not be regret at the awareness of the danger that those who choose iniquitous paths pose to yourself. At this stage in your world's development it is important that you understand the need to guard against those who have chosen evil ways, for they can harm you very much. Some will harm you in chipping away at your faith, if you allow it. Others will harm you by inflicting pain on your person, either physically or financially or emotionally. Some may even kill you, so please be aware that there is danger.

S: I am not aware that she has deliberately chosen iniquity. I just don't feel a threat from her in that form. I feel more that she's just floating, just not ready to choose anything.

R: It is something for you to consider that a spiritual matter will not be swayed by material considerations. Surely you know of those who have experienced, or even presently experience, material deprivation and mistreatment and yet gladly and lovingly choose to follow Father's path. And the opposite also, that is, those who have been fortunate and appear to have everything that money can buy, so to speak, who yet dwell in misery, rage, pride. You could never give them anything that would cause them to turn toward Father. Of course, there are all the variations. But do not make the error of believing that there is anything you can give such a person in the material sense that will cause them to alter their behavior. Your best hope in such a situation is to carry yourself with dignity and be a living example.

Question: On the definition of work, there are many forms of work, obviously, the one that we get paid for; is that the one you're speaking about mostly? Or is it just work in general, like the work we spend working in our garden, or helping a friend at their house? What is it that you're particularly speaking of?

Answer: Expenditure of effort with the goal of productivity in mind. Actually, most of the work that you perform is unpaid in the sense of wages. Think about the times you have had to deal with grief in friends or family. That was work, was it not? (S: Yes) Or your family chores, other family chores?

Question: I ask this because I find I have so much more joy in the physical work - whether it's growing or
helping someone else - and I am, at this point in my life, struggling with the work I do to make a living, in terms of just how empty it is and how it's just not what I want to be doing. And I feel quite stuck as to how to get out and change it.

I feel like Father's given me many, many, many gifts, and I realize that we can touch people by way of our daily work. I think perhaps that's what I'm doing in this job, but I can relate very much to when you say that there's work that's joyous and there would be such different work for me to do that would not be like work. I know so many lead lives of quiet desperation because they're doing things they just don't want to be doing, and I truly believe that people should be joyous in the work that they do, whether it's to make a living or whatever. And I'm lost right now on that subject because I'm not happy where I'm earning my living. I'm much more happy, whether it's cutting down a tree or helping somebody rebuild their house, or doing physical labor - the things I can see, fruits from my labor. Does that make sense?

R: I believe I understand what you are saying, however, desperation, to which you refer, is that element that I alluded to in our lesson which Lucifer and Caligastia so expertly magnified in the planets of rebellion. It is entirely possible that if what you refer to as your pleasure activities were incorporated into your present wage paying job, you would dislike them as well. The joy of work is something that you must develop on your own. It is your own inner attitude toward the activities that will result in joy, not the opposite.

S: Yes, I've had that self calm as well. But what do you do when you're just in a place that's reeking negativity? I know I choose my own way. That's what I'm struggling with right now, is trying to get myself out of a situation where I just think I've reached the end of my rope.

R: What do you think Jesus would do in your situation? (S: I don't know.) Can you imagine? Well, I imagine He would try to find the joy in it.

R: How would He do that? (S: I don't know.) What do you think would be the first step? My dear friend, you may wish to seek, earnestly seek, for goodness in your work. There is no thing on this world that is all bad, nor any that is all good. There must be some goodness there. I advise that you look for that goodness and make it your focus and your jumping off point to help build a joyous attitude. If you do that, you may indeed find that another opportunity which will be less onerous to you will present.