Not Just Another Man

from

Not  Just  Another  Man

Martin Cecil   September 15, 1974

Moving into this new seven-year period, a new experience should be naturally anticipated. “Six days shalt thou labour.” We have known that, but now something new. I'm not suggesting some sort of instantaneous transformation is to be expected. There has been something working out in a natural cycle over the years. What is it that has been fundamentally happening?

What we have referred to as material man has been dominant; spiritual man was apparently lost. However, gradually, as the attitude of judgment receded some changes have come. The movement out of the six days of labor into the seventh day of rest comes because spiritual man again begins to be revealed and material man recedes somewhat into the background, although still present. Spiritual man would not be very effective on earth without material man. Material man is not very effective on earth without spiritual man—but he's tried his damnedest. There begins to be a greater consciousness of one's own spiritual being, and responsibility is assumed, or right expression in this regard, through material man. He is needful that this might be so.

The sabbath of the Lord was blessed by the Lord and sanctified. We can see here something that relates very directly and particularly to the holy place where the priesthood are—where spiritual man properly abides. There comes an increased consciousness of walking day by day on holy ground. The old material man characteristics are no longer dominant and no longer seem so attractive as they once did.

Each individual is rightly a leader. The human view of a leader is sometimes that of a person who issues orders, imposes whatever is seemingly required upon his followers; but this is not the sort of leadership which we find in the experience of the true tone. True leadership is an exemplification of what is right; not with the idea of imposing that example upon somebody, but to make sure that no support is given to something wrong. If we give support to something wrong, then we are a follower of the wrong thing—of the prince of this world. So we have no agreement rightly with anything that is not right. While we do not make a big thing out of it, there is what might be called a gentle pressure with respect to anything that is not right appearing through somebody else.

For this to be the case, one must be right within himself, so that there is immediate and easy agreement with what is right wherever it appears. But when something is off-key, when a sour note begins to put in an appearance, we do not undertake necessarily to correct the person, to say, “You shouldn't be doing what you're doing; you shouldn't be judging,” or whatever it is. There's really no need for that if you are yourself an expression of the right thing. It immediately brings pressure to bear on the other person without any particular deliberation on your part—you simply are not in agreement with the wrong thing—you ignore the wrong thing. And you thereby exhibit the real nature of friendship, because you're not encouraging the person to follow the wrong thing.

As long as there is not agreement with the wrong thing, because one is too occupied with expressing the right thing, then certainly pressure is brought to bear. Something is felt if there is a person present who is true to the truth and one is deviating from it oneself. You feel it. And one needs to be alert to that feeling. You immediately know that something's wrong. The usual self-centered human attitude is to find some justification for one's own state of discomfort. If the discomfort is consequent upon agreement with something wrong, then immediately there is a warning signal which says, “Let your attitude change.” And it can be changed so easily and quickly in that circumstance. How long do you think it would take for the wrong things to disappear?

If there have been wrong things maintained—the habit of judgment, and there have been others around who have been inclined to agree with that judgment, then, of course, the judgment is maintained, the ill thing is maintained and fattened even, made more healthy. But if all concerned were instantly in this moment in agreement with what is right and simply not be in agreement with anything that is wrong, then the wrong things would clear out pronto; the person would be so lonely in the egression of something wrong. Particularly when we begin to move in the current of the spirit and you express something wrong, you find yourself isolated. And that's the way it should be.

People love to jump right in, don't they? Tear somebody down—something's wrong. How do you know? There's nothing wrong if we agree with what is right. There's only something wrong when we agree with something wrong. If we agree with something right, the tone is sounding and whatever is seemingly wrong will be taken care of as it should be, whatever way that may be—by the tone, not by the human judgment. We constantly make sure that in our association with others we are agreeing with what is right. On this basis comes a new experience of oneself. Spiritual man is right; material man separate from spiritual man is wrong. So, we accept the responsibility of rightness and consequently experience spiritual man. One can't experience spiritual man if one is wrong.

I have a letter here which I received from a lady outlining something which is vitally important to see—she outlines something most clearly and beautifully:

“For almost two years now I've been very careful to agree with your words, period. I had had an abhorrence to anything approaching idolatry of another human being. Lately, it had been difficult because your high vision and even higher expression were hard to ignore, but I worked at thinking of you as just another person. Last year, about this time, I woke up and thanked God for the morning. Not ‘the God that is me and is you’ as previous, but God—the Lord. And last week I suddenly faced the fact that I knew you weren't just another human being that had good things to say, yet for some reason I had refused to acknowledge it. And as soon as I did accept it, I realized what I had been doing. By trying to keep you at my level I didn't have to face the fact that if you were ‘up there,’ I could be as well. I have seen some idolatry of you. Those that kept you separate obviously didn't know you. I guess, too, that it's another way not to have to accept the standards. I realize now, more so than ever, the greatness of you. But I don't think I'm idolizing you. I know I can stand where you are—and I know that when I am there you will be higher, inviting me up. I'm finally, consciously, coming to you; not your words, not the Ranch or the Hundred, but to you. You've been waiting this long. I offer my total love and being in thanks.”

As I say, there is something of vital importance to be seen here. Human beings, in the material man state, look at each other as material human beings. Spiritual man has been so long absent that he is virtually an unknown quantity—he doesn't really exist to people. He may exist in symbol—the symbol of Jesus Christ—there is spiritual man, but not here. And it's convenient if He is there rather than here, because one then doesn't have to measure up—He is different; He is separate, and no one could aspire to be what He revealed Himself to be. This is the general human attitude in the range of Christianity, isn't it? He is something separate from all of us. But it isn't the truth. It is a convenient way of avoiding the necessity of facing what is required of oneself.

The same thing may occur with respect to a person who is now present. In this instance the lady writes to me. She had been endeavoring to maintain a distinction between what I was saying—the truth which appeared in written form or on tape—and me, the endeavor to see me simply as material man. Now material man sees material man, but spiritual man sees spiritual man. If one is afraid, as she expresses it, of idolizing material man, then perhaps there is something valid about the fear. Why should one idolize material man? But at the same time this attitude tends to deny the possibility of spiritual man: Everybody is material man—it can't be any other way. This was more or less the attitude that was taken when spiritual man was revealed so vividly through Jesus. The attitude would be, “Well, he's just another man.” When He went back to His hometown for instance, everybody knew Him. They knew His mother, His father, His brethren, and so on—just another man. What is being said is, “Here is just another material man,” which indicated in that instance, certainly, a great lack of vision. In other words, there were a lot of material people with no spiritual vision, and all a material person can see is another material person.

Now a material person is present when spiritual man is present. What is it you see? What is your vision in this regard? Does it get hung up in this regard with material man? Or do you see the evidence of spiritual man? Of course, a person can only see the evidence of spiritual man to the extent that he himself is beginning to experience the reality of spiritual man in his own expression. The emergence through the six days, as the judgmental attitude of material man is left behind, allows a person to begin to perceive spiritually—spiritual things are spiritually discerned. And who can discern spiritually? Material man? Oh, no. Spiritual man discerns spiritually, so there must at least be some measure of the experience of spiritual man in oneself before one will recognize spiritual man in another.

When there is the recognition of spiritual man in another, on the basis particularly of someone who is providing leadership, then one is no longer separating oneself from the same experience. One's own identity is rightly in the same place. And on this basis we come together in agreement—we agree as spiritual man, male and female. We don't try to agree as material man. This effort has been put forth for a long time by human beings, and still is, to try to produce agreement between material human beings while ignoring spiritual man. It is an impossible task on that basis—no agreement ensues. All that happens is that people become more critical of each other. And the closer people get to each other, the more critical they become of each other. Agreement is based in the experience of spiritual man. One must acknowledge spiritual man if one is to begin to know what agreement is.

I'm not interested in being idolized. We don't need any idols. But we do need agreement—we do need to awaken in our awareness to the reality of spiritual man. And spiritual man is not as other men, because that statement refers to material man. Spiritual man is not as other men, although material man is present in relationship to spiritual man.

There is the appearance of material man, but then the instruction is, “Judge not by the appearance”—rather, judge righteous judgment. See what is actually present and rejoice in that. All I'm concerned with is spiritual man—and spiritual man is spiritual man. I acknowledge spiritual man in relationship to each one. Why not, as you look at each other, do the same thing? If you do do the same thing, then you're in agreement with me. If you get hung up on material man, then we're in disagreement and the evidence of that disagreement will appear, because there will be a critical or judging attitude, where a person looks at material man and says, “That's not spiritual man.” Well, I know it's not spiritual man, but our concern is with spiritual man who is also present. Which carries the most value to us?

We find the value in spiritual man because we know there is no solution to any of material man's problems or difficulties or miserable states except by reason of spiritual man. Spiritual man is the one responsible for propagating the true tone on earth. And the true tone, propagated on earth, clears the mess which material man has made. Material man is totally incapable of clearing his own mess. All he does is add to it, make it worse. Wherever we look, in whatever direction, we see things getting more and more tangled up, and it is the nature of material human beings to condemn or criticize this one or that one because they acted thus-and-so and things became more tangled up. But if they had acted so-and-thus, exactly the same thing would have happened.

Judge not. Let the whole mess alone and agree with what is right. You may say, looking out into the world over there somewhere, you can't see very much that's right. Well, why not come a little closer to home. There are things that are right right here. Let's agree with this. Never mind the world out there. That will sort itself out if we are right. But if no one is right anywhere, it will never sort itself out.

Spiritual man is present. As you have an increasing awareness of this truth, that awareness becomes ever more vivid to the extent that we are in agreement with what is right, because spiritual man is that much more present. Only material man judges. Material human beings have judged God for judging. They're inclined to say that God is a judge. Oh, no. “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” We judge ourselves in the material condition. Let us rise up out of it. But to do that we have to recognize that spiritual man is present—acknowledge the fact, not because one is going to worship spiritual man but because one is going to share in the being of spiritual man, accepting that responsibility. The failure to acknowledge spiritual man is the insistence upon remaining in the material state.

Anyone can look at me and judge me—lots of people have. But those judgments make no difference to me. Do judgments of you make a difference to you? Does it change you from being you? We are not concerned with material judgments; we are concerned with the spiritual state in human experience, spiritual man—Abel as opposed to Cain. And Cain and Abel are rightly brothers. They belong together. But Cain will only allow the resurrection of Abel when he stops judging. That's why he killed Abel in the first place, wasn't it? Let us be willing to acknowledge the presence of spiritual man on earth, and agree with rightness. That doesn't mean that we have to disagree with wrongness. Don't judge it.

Always the question can be asked when you judge something as being wrong, how do you know? How do you know that it is wrong? Let it alone. To the extent that one begins to associate oneself with spiritual man, one becomes aware of what is right. We don't need to know what is wrong to know what is right—at least, the only reason why we may have to take a look sometimes at what seems to be wrong is so that we may turn to what is right. We're not going to take issue with what is wrong; we're not going to get into a battle about it; we're not going to judge it, but agree with what is right. And when we do, we reveal the fact that we love one another, because we will not support attitudes of judgment whenever they appear in others. We should be delighted that, if an attitude of judgment appears in us, we find that those with whom we are immediately associated don't support it.

Human beings are afraid of being alone, which is why so much trouble is taken to surround oneself with other people, supposedly friends—but the sense of aloneness is the void in a person consequent upon the fact that spiritual man is not being experienced. It doesn't have anything to do with other people. And other people can't take your loneliness away from you. Only you can find the true state of comfort, because you agree with spiritual man. Then the true brothers get together; there's no more loneliness.

So we move into this sabbath day, to stand in the holy place because we are simply concerned with what is right. We are not judging others as being wrong; we are concerned to be right ourselves in the expression of what we are, spiritual man. And as this becomes the increasing experience of all concerned, whatever doesn't belong in the right expression of spiritual man in the moment is simply dissolved—it passes away. Many of the things that perhaps we have judged as being wrong are discovered not to be wrong at all; it was merely our view of them that was wrong. We didn't see clearly. But as we begin to see with the eyes of spiritual man, all these things begin to fall into place and we find that there was really nothing to judge anyway. All things work together to perfection for those who love and serve the Lord.

Let us continue to love and serve the Lord, which means to love and serve what is true and right in the expression of spiritual man. Here is the basis of all agreement. The almighty power of God is released through the tone of life to achieve what is right and true and proper to the glory of God. Let it work out on the right basis; everything's under control. All things work together to perfection—this is true when we love and serve the Lord, when we are true to the truth, when we are true to the tone. Let us assume our responsibility as spiritual man, that we may continue to play our parts together in agreement. The vibrant spirit of the living God is always present, always enfolding, always ready to find full, free, strong expression through you in each moment of your living.

© Emissaries of Divine Light