Spirituality

You are a Creative Worker:

God carries on creative work through human beings. Human beings serve as instrument of transformation of thoughts and ideas from the spiritual state to the physical state. Our mind which is an aspect of the brain mechanism is a creative device which enables us to relate to spiritual as well as physical existence.

Our role in the creative process involves receiving thoughts and ideas which emanate from God into our mind. By means of our mental and physical powers we are able to transform these thoughts and ideas into physical reality. So the human being receives from the spiritual and transforms into the physical. Our function in the creative process can be likened to the function of a television set. The pictures we see on the screen do not originate from the television set. The television set receives signals that are transmitted from a television station and then transforms these signals into observable pictures on the television screen. In the case of the creative process, thinking enables us to tune in to and receive thoughts, ideas and concepts from God. These thoughts, ideas and concepts we are then able to transform into physical (objective) reality by means of our mental and physical powers. To illustrate this process let us consider how a building comes into existence. By thinking, an architect receives ideas and concepts of the design of a building in his mind. By means of his mental and physical abilities he transfers his mental pictures of the design of this building to drawing on paper. A builder, by interpreting this drawing, is able to construct the building thereby bringing it into existence. And so what has come from God as thoughts has eventually become a physical reality.

Evidently, the human being is a co-worker with God in the creative process.

Your Gift of Creative Ability:

Human beings are endowed with creative ability. We have the capacity to do things requiring intelligence. Our creative ability is in the form of mental and physical powers. Since our physical abilities are obvious, I shall focus attention on human mental powers. Observation of human beings reveals that human mind exhibits certain capabilities. These are:

Drive:

This is the mental power by which a person presses forward or pushes on with a task. It is the capacity of the mind to sustain effort and get things done.

Power of Self Control:

This is the mental power by which a person can direct his thoughts and actions and exercise control over his feelings and impulses.

Power of Feeling:

This is the power of the mind by which a person is able to perceive, experience or become conscious of physical and spiritual phenomena through feeling.

Intelligence:

This is the mental power we have of perceiving, learning, understanding and knowing.

There are three aspects to human intelligence and these are:

Intellect: This is the power of the mind to reason.

Memory: This is the power of keeping facts in the conscious mind and being able to call them back at will.

Knowledge: The actual knowledge a person has is an aspect of his intelligence.

All these mental powers are present in every normal human being. These mental powers working together determine a person’s mental qualities and characteristics. Our mental powers together with our physical abilities constitute our creative ability.

The extent, degree or level to which human beings are gifted with each of these different mental powers varies from individual to individual. No two individuals match each other in the extent of endowment of every one of these mental powers. By this I mean that no two individuals have the same measure of drive, the same degree of self-control and the same depth and strength of power of feeling as well as have the same measure of intellect, the same strength of memory and the same amount of knowledge. However, people may be classed in broad groupings of level of endowment of particular mental powers. For example, depending on the extent to which a person is gifted intellectually, such a person may be described in any one of the following ways: as having low intellectual ability, as having average intellectual ability, as having high intellectual ability or as having exceptional intellectual ability.

Because human beings are endowed with the different mental powers to different levels, degrees or extent, you find that each human being has distinct mental qualities and characteristics. Each individual has his or her special way of thinking and doing things. This explains why human beings think and behave differently from one another. The fact that human beings are mentally different explains why people have different interests and talents and so take to different vocations, occupations or professions. It also accounts for the fact that people occupy different positions in life. Our physical abilities also play a part in determining our choice of occupation or career and contribute to determining our place in life.

There are two important things to note about our creative ability. One is the fact that human ability is limited. No person can accomplish all things and no person knows everything. Our capability is finite. The other thing to note is that our mental powers grow stronger as we use them until they develop to full potential. This is similar to what happens when we use our muscles vigorously or exercise them.

Let me restate at this point that the human mind is not some sort of soul or spirit in our body. God is the only spirit in existence. Our mind is only a mechanism of the brain which enables us to relate to spiritual as well as physical existence. Our mind is a creative device for transforming thoughts, ideas and concepts from the spiritual realm into physical reality.

You are God's Instrument of Service:

Often when people can no longer handle a situation on their own, when they reach the limit of their powers or resources, they reach out to God. They pray and ask God for help. However, people do not expect that God will appear physically to them to render the help they need. Instead they approach other human beings through whom they hope and expect that God will solve their problem.

For the purpose of illustration, consider a situation where someone’s child suddenly falls ill. The child’s condition is so bad that this person prays to God to help restore the health of his child. After asking God for help, he will not wait for God to appear with a stethoscope and a bag of medicines. He will instead take his sick child to hospital to see a doctor. He expects that God will answer his prayers and restore the health of his child through the doctor.

Let us consider another situation. Someone desires to embark on a business venture but has difficulty in obtaining the necessary funds to finance it. If he is the kind f person who believes in God he will probably pray and ask God for help. After praying he will not sit back and expect that money will fall from the skies. Neither will he go in search of God’s bank in order to obtain the needed funds. Instead he will go to financial institutions run by human beings or approach people whom he thinks can satisfy his need. In effect, God serves human needs through people. From this we can deduce the following moral principle: that when others reach the limit of their ability or resources and reach out to a person, it is that person’s duty to do the best he can to satisfy their need. The individual is, in reality, God’s instrument of service to humanity.

Let us take a look at this issue from another angle. The value of a thing lies in its usefulness to human beings. A can of sand is worthless because it does not satisfy any human need. No one will offer money in exchange for it. On the other hand, a can of orange juice has value because it is useful to human beings. The individual is endowed with creative ability. The worth of this creative ability lies in its usefulness to people. The worth of the individual lies in the use of his creative ability to satisfy human needs.

It is therefore evident that service to humanity is the purpose of the life of a human being. It is also clear that service to humanity is what gives worth to a human being’s life.

The human being can be seen as a worker in God’s Creative Establishment whose duty is to serve people. When we serve others we receive consideration for our services. When we receive payment for our services we are then able to meet our own needs. Our first duty is to satisfy others after which we can think of ourselves. ‘Others first’ is the golden rule for creative and successful living.

God has endowed us with creative ability, not for us to use for selfish ends but for us to use for service to humanity.

It is important to note that we do not serve the needs of others only when they can offer consideration or repay us. When we help, support or assist others we are actually contributing to God’s creative work through them. This, in effect, means that we are co-operating with or working with God. God is infinitely good. One way or another, He will ensure that we receive adequate consideration for whatever help, assistance or support we give to others.

This article was excerpted from Spiritual Science, a book by Emmanuel Emezie. Information about the book and how to order it is available at this url: http://www.spiritualsciencesociety.org/publications.html

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