The word “service” in a religious context has a strong, though blurred — not to say wear out — connotation. Much is said about service to God, service to the Church or service to others. Have you ever wondered what it really means?
The Urantia Book, as is customary, also redefines ministry or rather, restores its rightful strength. I tried to catch and understand the essence of this new meaning. Although service appears in the papers very often, the authors do not propose a single, clear definition. This in itself is clear. The problem with understanding what service is, results from the constant distortion of the meaning of this word (and many others) by the Catholic Church and its ilk. This material could not become an ordinary analysis of the reinterpretation of a word, as it resounds from the book. It will rather be a free attempt to grasp the more or less subtle distortions that the ministry has grown over centuries of religious indoctrination. Therefore, there will be subjective interpretations, digressions and exaggerated criticism.
To leave no doubt – in these divagations I treat the Catholic Church as a synonym of a religious organization. Catholicism is the dominant religion in Poland and I also had the most in common with the Church. That is why I pick on him the most and set him as an example. It doesn’t matter that “others are worse”, or that “it is not like that everywhere”, or “but the Catechism says otherwise”. The Church’s messages are so incoherent and frivolously interpreted that it self-inflicted. I will also mention, for example, Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I am convinced that it is similar in other denominations. Bible-related leeches operate on very similar, sectarian principles. The details that differ between them are too small to bend over.
In order to fully understand the position of the authors of The Urantia Book on this issue, it is advisable to know the definitions of related but crucial issues. Therefore, I encourage you to check what they say about true religion, free will, or sin.
Definition
The Dictionary of the Polish Language offers 5 definitions of the word “service”:
- Service, as work performed with dedication for the benefit of a community,
- Service, as a public utility institution, e.g. health care or the army (employees of these institutions can also be called service),
- Service, as the activity of the above institutions, e.g. military service,
- Service, as duties performed during specific working hours in some institutions,
- Service, as the performance of the work of a servant in someone’s home, farm, etc. for remuneration (this also includes people performing such work).
Even if the first one fits best, it turns out that in a religious context it is permissible to draw on each of these definitions as you wish. This is what the Church does and so do the authors of the papers, with a small, but significant difference.
Serving God
In order to realize where such frequent distortions of religious terms come from, it is necessary to reach the source of the problem. I would point out here the greatest sin of the Church in my opinion – megalomania.
When a religious organization equates what it preaches with God’s word, soda bubbles goes to its heads. And the Catholic Church claims to be the infallible, unchangeable and only legitimate representative of the Creator of all things. One can get the impression that is equal to God. Such a dangerous equation is easy to dissect into small pieces. The member is to have a faith bordering on certainty (“I believe in the Holy Church”) that the priest always speaks with the voice of the revealed truth. And in their words you don’t hear guesses, but statements. They do not offer advice to the faithful. Rather, they give orders. Even if not directly, it is the priest who decides about the fate of sinners and sets the “paths of the Lord” that cannot be traced. At least that’s the impression what it should make. Pay attention to the details. We are to call the priest “father” and greet him with the words “God bless you”. It is the priest who gives the wedding, but “God has joined”. The priest forgives sins and gives a dispensation. A priest defeats Satan and criticism of the Church is blasphemy. The examples can be multiplied. The caricatured dignity (both of clothing and statements) of the clergy is intended to intensify this illusion. Life without the Church means life without God. Church = God.
This conviction is not only the source of sectarian divisions — for you are either with them or against God—but it permits the men of the Church to arbitrarily and authoritatively determine the meanings, even of universal words. After all, they decide what sin, evil and good are; what repentance, redemption and salvation are; even what love is. Also what service is.
Service to the Church
Even, when service is a dedicated work to some community, the Church ventures into this areas. It is difficult to distinguish between service to God and service to the Church.
Searching the Internet for explanations of what “serving God” actually means, I came across many Catholic websites. However, I found above all high-sounding phrases: Serving God is sharing love, gratitude and goodness; Not many specifics. In religion classes and in churches, I heard about serving God as the basic duty of a believing Catholic. It was served with the same poetic grace. However, there was always the same equation between the lines.
Among Catholics, service to the Church is well perceived. One website says, among other as follows:
A Christian should put his talents and skills at the disposal of the community, for its good, for example, in the preparation of the Holy Mass, in solving social problems of his environment, in caring for the old and lonely people, in working with young people and in the parish council.
I appreciate the emphasis on good intentions. This is a good encouragement for them to appear from the bottom up. It is a pity that such service is to be limited to the community. Service to one’s neighbor was renamed service to one’s own. This is where the aforementioned divisions come from. Support directed only within the group encapsulates it. And from such divisions the shortest way is to xenophobia and intolerance. Which, by the way, is perfectly visible among Catholics (and not only). There are us who know, so we will help each other. And They, if not join us, will burn in hell anyway. It reeks of a sect. Catholic aversion to non-believers (or other enemies, e.g. homosexuals) invariably frightens me. Jehovah’s Witnesses not only limit contacts with the unaffiliated (outside the ministry, which will be discussed in a moment), but at the same time they cut themselves off from those who have left the organization; even when it concerns the closest family. Catholics can be so insolent that they also demand support from non-believers and atheists. Because of the Polish tradition. Because there is only one God, and only the Church wraps God’s arm around us (but only his own!).
On this occasion I will cling to all kinds of (in small parishes often obligatory) help-service for priests. For the good of the community, help prepare the mass, but also clean the church, organize a festival, some transport and renovate the rectory. Service to the Church is reflected in the provision of services to priests. And they allow the faithful to feel that when they serve the Church, they serve God himself. Anyway, who will settle the payment (“God bless you”)? This is a good time to mention a specific variation of the word “service” — “To make use of someone without payment”.
If there is a difference between serving the Church and serving God, it is so subtle that I do not see it. The members are to follow the way of God, on which the signposts are put by the priest. God commands us to do good … but the priest determines what it actually means. Gratitude to God is manifested by sacrificing one’s will and dignity for the priest’s comforts; respect is due to God, but one must bow to a priest. Generosity, of course, works perfectly with each of these ministries.
I realize that these are echoes of human weaknesses. And we are all just week; even if the clergy would like to persuade us that it is different with them (it is not without reason – with the voice of God – that they appoint saints from among themselves). However, I regret the fact that this hypocritical priestly exaltation, this demand for flattery, honours and privileges, was accepted as an acceptable or even expected norm. Many really still believe that groveling before a priest is synonymous with humility before the Creator. Not to mention the bishop or, horror of horrors, the pope (the cult of Polish pope Karol Wojtyła can be disturbing). The deficit of impulses for self-reflection and self-criticism, combined with politics and business, creates an explosive mixture. Priestly pride and arrogance are probably only equal to that of celebrities. And the Church does nothing to eradicate it. On the contrary, after all God never does wrong.
Church Service
According to the dictionary definition, the work of a priest can also be spoken of as a service. They work with people and theoretically for people, so I have no problem using this word, even when the practice looks quite different.
The service is not lucky when it comes to work. Also outside the religious area, in such a context it almost always sounds like an oxymoron. The Police service, the military service or the health service, just like the priestly service, are (too) often a sad parody of what they pretend to be. In reality, probably only actual servants do not stain their profession.
The Church will willingly say that it serves its faithful, by help and support, not only spiritual. I have heard many times about various types of collections for the needy, in which people of the Church were involved, or which they simply organized. This is the part of his activity which the hierarchs, quite rightly, boast about the most. I am very much in favour of such initiatives. May they be as clean as possible.
There are countless support and charity organizations. I do not want to undermine the good they have rendered, although I am saddened that they sometimes turn out to be covers for extortion or money laundering. I am not one of those people who regret charity organizers comfortable life; often they deserved it through many years of consistent work. However, I doubt the noble intentions of the foundations, which, after deducting the “service costs”, can allocate the entire 2% of donations for real help. When money and influence are at stake, man knows no boundaries of decency. Once again, I will ask: why should this not apply to religion?
When it comes to sects, I am far from being objective. That is why I also doubt their intentions. In my opinion, what the Church calls ministry is to the greatest extent indoctrination. To disguise it, it is called evangelization. Instead of spreading faith and spiritual comfort, I notice rather calculated methods of disciplining and recruiting members. The Church serves the former with threats, offering fear; to the latter, giving material hope. Religious service is not based on support in discovering God, but on persuading seekers that one has a monopoly on Him. And when the Church provides its services, there is no longer “God bless you”. Rather, “What grace, but not less than…”
Here again, Jehovah’s Witnesses will be a good example. They probably knocked on your door once or you passed them on the street, where they are standing with leaflets. Know that this is their ministry. Literally. Acquiring new members is for them “going into service”. Unfortunately, behind the façade of smile and kindness, there is a perverse strategy of luring lost people, often disadvantaged by fate, and therefore craving spiritual relief. Just like in the Church.
From Kolkata
For dessert I have left, in my opinion, the worst direction in which the religious understanding of service — whether to God or to one’s neighbor — self mortification; all the worse if only for show.
This is one of those flavors of church evangelization that disgust me the most. Pain has its power, sometimes even soothing; agreed. However, I doubt that the broadly understood service will be sanctified thanks to pain. Pointing to the all-loving Father as the source of broadly understood pain is confusing. Pure love and groudless anguish cannot go together. And the Church even identifies them. When he exalts suffering by the divine word, it will be found that it is not fitting to avoid such a gift from heaven. In fact, we should rather look for it and bask in it. After all, the father has to be strict. In this way he blesses those whom he loved most… I understand why the Church glorifies suffering. How else is he supposed to justify the misfortunes that afflict the blessed faithful? How else can we prove the rightness of their sacrifices for the service of God? And who but God can bring relief? Understanding, however, does not make such teachings any less distasteful.
So, a believer is supposed to live modestly, quietly and in shame. Consequently live with regret and guilt, to deny yourself, to get rid of ambitions and not to be jealous; all for the service of God. And certainly not to look at whether the priest also does this; just listen to what he says. The Church, and in the well-known equation God, in many respects seems to be an opponent of happiness. Not only does it exalt, and therefore belittle, suffering (and with the hands of its people it has been passionately causing it for centuries), but at the same time it demonizes pleasure and entertainment; even development. It is the priest who is to be the only source of solace and knowledge.
Like God.
Father’s Children
The definition of ministry in The Urantia Book is simple. Not to say obvious. But in order to accept it, it is essential to let go of the notion that access to God is in any way graded. The Catholic Church not only fosters outwardly sectarian divisions — we, the blessed, and all the damned, recalcitrant rest — but it also has a complicated hierarchy internally. This intensifies the illusion that the greater the dignity in the organization, the closer you are to God. The Archbishop, not to mention the Pope, is one step away from the Creator. Not like an ordinary Smith, who did not deserve his favor. This has many far-reaching consequences. The most striking is the self-proclaimed spiritual authority of the Church, but it also has its resonance in the already mentioned service to God.
The Urantia Book categorically rejects such teachings. In the eyes of the Universal Father, we are all equal. This is reflected directly and comprehensively in true religion. This means that there can be no question of a top-down order or the need to serve, however understood. This is clearly expressed by one of my favorite message:
The Universal Father never imposes any form of arbitrary recognition, formal worship, or slavish service upon the intelligent will creatures of the universes. The evolutionary inhabitants of the worlds of time and space must of themselves — in their own hearts — recognize, love, and voluntarily worship him. The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures. The affectionate dedication of the human will to the doing of the Father’s will is man’s choicest gift to God; in fact, such a consecration of creature will constitutes man’s only possible gift of true value to the Paradise Father. In God, man lives, moves, and has his being; there is nothing which man can give to God except this choosing to abide by the Father’s will, and such decisions, effected by the intelligent will creatures of the universes, constitute the reality of that true worship which is so satisfying to the love dominated nature of the Creator Father.
1:1.2 (22.5)
When the Church, in the name of God, wants to force believers to perform a specific and one-dimensional kind of sacrifice-service, God does not really require anything of us. You don’t have to serve God, or Jesus, or angels, or priests, or even your neighbor; and certainly not because you’ve been told you’re inferior to them. You can (and should) serve whoever you want instead, and as you see fit.
Service is dedicated work for a community. Except that The Urantia Book extends the understanding of fellowship to every free will creature of the grand universe. We all create such a community. Not only Catholics, not only believers. Not only the rich, not only the poor. Not only the suffering, not only the happy. Not only men, not only women, not only whites, not only blacks. Not only Varsovians, not only Poles, not only Europeans. Not only earthlings. We are all equal members of God’s community. What the Church is so eager to forget, service reflects a willingness to work for all good.
This is also where the essence of service emerges: this must flow from sincere intentions. It is impossible to bribe a man or force him to religious service; neither by force, nor by fear, nor by shame, nor by spiritual or material promises. We must be willing to serve; from within ourselves and to actively do so. It is free will, inspired by true religion that determines purity, and therefore the quality of service. The level of sincerity of a decision prompting a person to serve indicates the degree to which is blessed. Unfortunately, religious organizations evangelize and pollute intentions. Selfishly motivated service is just an empty shell. This does not mean that the effects of impoverished intentions cannot do any good. In fact, even evil will only bring good. Purity of intention, however, has an impact on the state of mind of the servant. Living in contrary to the true religion is primarily harming ourselves.
The quality of service does not depend on the material position or the degree of initiation into the meanders of the Church. The effects of service are incalculable and another person is not able to assess its spiritual value. In practice, the sincere ministry of a young child will be more powerful than the calculated materialistic ministry of a bishop. And even if its echo resonates materially, the fruits of such service are always timeless and supermaterial.
Divine
Divinity is creature comprehensible as truth, beauty, and goodness; correlated in personality as love, mercy, and ministry; disclosed on impersonal levels as justice, power, and sovereignty.
0:1.17 (3.4)
The above message carries interesting philosophical repercussions. For when The Urantia Book designates divinity the property characterized by the striving for unity, all service will prove universal. God is unity, therefore divinity is a quality that makes him similar or brings him closer. Service to one’s neighbor becomes not only work for the good of the community, but also service to God and at the same time service to oneself. We are all different expressions of the same energy. The love and mercy mentioned in the quoted message also fit perfectly into such a combination. To emphasize the consistency of the teachings of The Urantia Book, I will mention two more important commandments of God: “Be you perfect, even as I am perfect” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”.
Service does not exist without the other individual. We can serve ourselves, and indeed we must begin there, but without the other being, it would be the very opposite of what it really is. Service is rooted in love and spreads throughout the world as good. And good is the will of the Universal Father. However, we must not forget that the vision of good that we have now, due to our animal-egoistic remains, is sometimes clouded. What is called good, or what the Church considers good does not have to be so at all (but it does not mean that it is not good). Ministry, as a true religion in practice, is always subjective and individual.
Like true religion, ministry is not a snippet or a part of life, like work. Rather, it is the sum of small and major decisions and actions devoted to the will of the Universal Father (read: good) that will make up the whole of life. It seems that service should be active, but even inactivity —a state of mind indicating readiness to serve — is also active. Here the thread of sincere intentions comes up again, because it is easy for us to deceive ourselves in this matter. That is why ministry is so closely related to true religion. Service is love for oneself and for another person and a constant desire to become better. It is the uninterrupted practice of religious life; in reality, just life. Thanks to religion understood in this way, and through service, we become divine and we reveal this divinity to the entire universe.
Pattern
Very well, I want to serve; but what does that mean, humanly speaking? What are we actually supposed to do? I don’t know. Only you feel what kind of service is right for you. Just like me. No one will ever tell us. In fact, if someone tries, a warning light should light up. Nor can we know what kind of ministry is appropriate for someone else. This is the clou of true religion. Each one must discover for himself, within himself, in the silence of his own heart, what true religion is, and then learn how to serve. However, we can take an example from the outside; and give it to the outside.
The Urantia Book often speaks of service. He exalts and encourages service, but in no way teaches how to serve. However, it does give hints. And most important, it offers a model of perfect service — the life story of the incarnate Creator Son, Christ Michael, whom we better know as Jesus of Nazareth.
Unfortunately, the damage was also caused here by church distortions. Because the story of Jesus was not only falsified, but what is worse, it is also misinterpreted. Jesus did indeed reveal an exemplary and exemplary life. He lived as God would live among men, and so He served in this way. However, this does not mean that we should recreate his life and do the same as him. Rather, what he did should inspire us to want to live like him.
The teachings of the overwhelming majority of religious organizations are completely wrong about Jesus’ approach to ministry. To begin with, Jesus never advocated religious isolation. On the contrary, He always encouraged openness, curiosity and searching. Contrary to Jewish nationalism, he extended the idea of his neighbor to the whole world, thus making all people siblings. He himself lived just such an ideal life of true religion. He also never taught servility (and he was certainly not a communist). Instead, it showed the idea of active and spontaneous kindness. He warned the apostles not to allow themselves to be exploited by social parasites or professional beggars. He explained that uncritical kindness can bring a lot of social evil. In such circumstances, he repeated: “Be wise as serpents, but gentle as doves”.
Although it is the fault of the Church, it is so much associated with it service does not have to manifest itself in great – loud – deeds. Attention-seeking, no matter how nobly justified, is simply selfish. An ordinary, unremarkable but sincere life can be the best form of service. Of course, it is the memory of Jesus’ fantastic deeds that is most carefully cherished. However, I will insist that in reality the strongest influence was exerted by those seemingly insignificant. These behaviors, attitudes and often simple words that moved and forever changed the people he came into contact with. Without diminishing his universal wisdom – it is not even so much about what he said and did, but about what kind of person he was. The wonders are spectacular. However, conversions under the influence of miracles are superficial and impermanent. Spiritual inspirations will endure for eternity. And through the ministry of inspired men, they are contagious and spread effectively.
Jesus did what He thought was right and what His heart told Him; and always for the spiritual good of another person. He had a broad perspective and crystal clear intentions. He did not favor anyone (not even his family!), there was not an ounce of selfishness or greed in him. He never got carried away. He did not show or reciprocate aggression, but he was not a pushover either. He never deceived anyone, but he was able to stand up for himself. He was truthful, but not arrogant, gentle but firm and assertive and always faithful to the promptings of the heart. In every situation, he was honest with himself, ready to defend his own beliefs and accept all consequences for such an attitude. He was a coherent, complete man. And he never succumbed to pressure – neither family nor social and certainly not religious. He died for that too. Jesus lived the unique and one-time life of God, revealing at the same time to people that this is how we can and must live.
Don’t be a piece of shit
The service should be active (even when idle), but it can wake up earlier. In order to serve others, it is not necessary to lead them to salvation at once. Or even make their lives more enjoyable. Maybe at the beginning it is enough that we do not at least make it difficult for them with our actions? It probably won’t be a service yet, but it seems like a great starting position. The faithful ask: What do I have to do to go to heaven? Rather, the seed of religious service would be the question: What can I do so that others can go to heaven?
Imagine a world where you can believe the advertising descriptions; a world where ads tell the truth and “customer welfare” is more than marketing. A world where people aren’t fed poisons, where prices aren’t driven up because “ignorant people will buy anyway,” and where the shelf life of products isn’t worsened just to push them away. A world where politicians act for the benefit of the public, in which pharmaceutical companies care about health, and those called up to all kinds of services serve. Imagine a world where seniors are not pushed “magic” pots, they are not told non-existent diseases, and they themselves are not only respected by the young, but also reciprocate this respect. It’s a world where there are no cigarette butts on the sidewalks, dog poops on the lawns, and in a strange place after dark you won’t get killed. A world that is not ruled by money, where fame is not equated with wisdom and a shapely body is not an immaculate interior. It is a world in which priests care about the development of the faithful, a world in which you can arrange everything without acquaintances, where favors have no second bottom, you are not the last to find out about betrayal and others are not always to blame for everything. Imagine a world where people refuse to accept that their world is different.
To be of service to others, we must first take care of ourselves — service is a constant balancing act between caring for ourselves and caring for others. But take any aspect of everyday life, and you will find a place to serve your neighbor. For the good of the community, you don’t have to give away your property, you don’t have to always give in to everyone or beat yourself up because you are happy. However, you may wish those you pass on the street to have a little easier life. It does not seem impossible, it requires making certain decisions.
You are not Jesus. But it’s good when you want to be like him. I would certainly like to. By realizing these desires, we slowly become better. And we can even start from scratch; here and now.
Never forget there is only one adventure which is more satisfying and thrilling than the attempt to discover the will of the living God, and that is the supreme experience of honestly trying to do that divine will. And fail not to remember that the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness — justice. The spirit which my Father and I shall send into the world is not only the Spirit of Truth but also the spirit of idealistic beauty.
155:6.11 (1732.4)
Have fun
It’s nice to please. Allways. This only reinforces my belief that all religious sorrows are rubbish. Life should be pleasant. Although sometimes we realize that materialism does not make them so, it is nice to feel fulfilled at least for a moment. And service certainly brings fulfillment. And even when, like me, you still have no idea how to serve, I’m sure you know exactly what feeling we’re talking about.
I remember the clichéd saying of motivational coaches: “Do what you love and you will never have to work”. I say: “Do it as you love and you will be happy”.
PS Like him
God is leading us. Personally. Not by unambiguous signposts, but by a whisper of eternal values and universal truth. While trying to conform to his will, everyone will experience the taste of success, we will also experience bitter defeats. We will not live perfectly and serve like Jesus, but we can live like Jesus and serve to the best of our ability. That is why life, your life, can also be a model for others. Isn’t that a captivating prospect?
An exemplary life does not have to be a life full of great deeds and excellent results. It is rather a life in the midst of purer and purer intentions. A life in which a person does, what deep down he thinks is right, true, beautiful and good, regardless of what others think and what the measurable results are.
An exemplary life does not have to be easy. Nobody makes only the right decisions. Nobody knows all the solutions. However, we can overcome all hardships with honesty, take responsibility for our own actions with dignity and persistently seek answers, because all this makes us better. An exemplary life is a continuous development; even if it is arduous and inconspicuous.
An exemplary life is a life without expectations. It does not have to be a life loud with glory and honors. It is not self-aggrandizement that inspires, but modesty. And an exemplary life is not a life overloaded with excessive ambitions. It is a life of striving for perfection in small things. Let us play the role of parent, spouse, friend and employee to the best of our ability; and tomorrow will be even better.
An exemplary life does not have to be difficult. We are allowed to serve (with) humor and enjoy the experience. An exemplary life is about looking for and nurturing talents. We are allowed to demand fair payment for work and enjoy praise.
For an exemplary life is a life dedicated to the will of the Universal Father. By his commandment, let us strive for perfection and let us love another human being as we would like to be loved. One inspired man is the progress of the entire universe.