2001-01-14. Devotion
Nashville #106
Topic: Devotion
Group: Nashville TeaM
Teacher: Ham
TR: Rebecca
Opening
Ham: Greetings, children, I am Ham and again I am grateful that you have all come this evening. We are happy that Vincent has joined us. We have come a long road together, my son, and continue to go far.
Lesson
Devotion
Tonight, we shall discuss undying devotion. What is devotion? What do you mean when you declare yourself devoted to a person or to a cause? It is that your soul and that ideal that sublime recognition are one together. You soul goes out to that which is transcendent. You are part of that thing and that is part of you. True devotion, try undying devotion, exists between personalities. Nothing less can mobilize the total forces of the personalities involved.
When you become truly devoted to the Father in heaven, your complete being exists to love his being. It is then easier to be devoted to another person or devoted to humanity because you see him in all things, you see something transcendent in all other human beings. It is impossible to be truly devoted to something which is beneath the level of personality. You can be devoted to an ideal, very strongly, but only when that ideal is connected to a transcendent person is that devotion truly complete. For example, you can be devoted to truth, but you are only truly and completely devoted to truth when that truth is part of the divine person.
When you discover that that which you become devoted to can absorb all of your devotion, there is not end to what you can put into and receive back from that person and that is true devotion, when there is always more to discover, more to love, and more to be devoted to.
To be truly devoted to a cause, that cause must have a transcendent righteousness, it must show a greater way to the Father so that your devotion can pour into it without end. Most of you have had the experience of giving your devotion to something that is less than God and of being disappointed some way or have found yourself drifting away after a time.
Nothing can hold your devotion like the Father can. Once you give your devotion to him, then all else cannot pull you away from it, you will never be tempted to switch loyalties so to speak. Human beings will disappoint, ideas will have limitations, but when you find something truly worthy of your devotion, something that transcends all else, your devotion will never stray nor will it be disappointed.
My children, you are all doing well, and there are many of you hear tonight so I will begin with asking are there any questions at this time.
Dialogue
Urantia Book
Q: It seems to me that some people have devoted themselves to the Urantia book instead of God and that seems like an example of a lesser devotion.
Ham: That is so. The book has much within it which tends to cause awe within human beings and makes them feel that they have found truths, but that is not the whole truth, it is not something which can hold your devotion throughout eternity for it is simply a book of instruction, a book designed to aid your world. It is not the Father and it is not sacred.
Cults
Q: Can you comment on when people’s devotion gets channeled into something evil for example Adolf Hitler?
Ham: Yes, this is an interesting phenomenon. You must remember that your world was deprived of its planetary prince and also of Adam and Eve who were destined to become benevolent rulers of your world. There is a need in human beings to find that which was taken, to mistakenly exalt a flawed human being to that sublime status of planetary prince or of Adam and Eve. Thus, human beings are always seeking answers from other human beings, seeking that personality satisfaction that results in devotion. And, you will continue to be disappointed in these humans, you will continue to be led astray en mass for some time until the entire world learns what is appropriate for their devotion.
The Catholic Church, for example, has a system of Saint-hood where it allows humans to be devoted to deceased human beings. This has actually diverted a lot of that human tendency to latch their devotion on to other people and has helped create a stability for many centuries. Part of the reason for that rise of the personality cult in the century was a result of the decline of the church, of religion so that political causes took the place of religion and resulted in those great mobilizations of people for unfortunate purposes in China, Russia, and in Germany. This country has remained so strong due to the strength of its religious life which has always been very independent and has tended to channel devotion towards Jesus rather than towards religious or political leaders.
Q: Nancy asks about Merilee, cancer, how is she doing and should Nancy visit soon?
Ham: Nancy, my daughter, you want to change that which is and this is not for you to do. The process by which human beings transition into the next life can seem to be very frightening and baffling and yet it is necessary. Do not fear this process, you will learn much about yourself, about your feelings about life. Those who transition early, or seemingly so, have great gifts to give others. They are the ones who often make the biggest impact in people’s lives. She is taking all this very well and is basically very limited in her energy so that a visit might be more stress than is warranted at this time. But do not hesitate to go when you are called.
Conferences
Q: I wonder if you could give me a comment on the upcoming Florida gathering or find Will and she will give us a comment on that?
Ham: I will certainly. This is a very diverse group, a group of people who are active searchers, who all, to some extent, want to broaden their life experience. There will be those who feel drawn to supply answers, to exalt themselves out of the searching of others and who these people are is sometimes surprising. Some people are very adamant in their assertions. Usually they are the ones who are the most uncertain. It will be important for you to draw out those who sit in the shadows, who want to participate but feel constrained by their own fear of embarrassment. You can’t be too self-assured, or too willing to run things either because you want to always keep the focus on the Father, on the supernal teachers, on the Master and not let it gravitate to human beings which is, as we discussed earlier, man’s first impulse.
You are always a gracious host and are always very adept at leading without seeming to lead and this is very important. There will be some tensions, some disagreements, and this will be a challenge for the group to work through and for everyone to participate in that kind of healing love which is always necessary. Represent the higher beings, represent Michael to the best of your ability. Handle all these situations as he would, exchange your mind for his. Pray for this and you will have his insights. Remember one thing, spiritual cleverness is not a substitute for spiritual growth. You will find many people with broad knowledge and a lot of cleverness which perhaps might have a paucity of true spiritual love. Be aware of this and extend to those people your love and your example. You are to be applauded for taking on this responsibility every year. It has been a source for great healing in the community of believers and this year will be no exception. But yes, expect there to be a little more fireworks this time. Is this helping.
