Welcome to our new Sunday Morning Service by Dr. Dean A. Banks, D.D. Every week Dr. Dean will be engaging subjects that are pertinent to your growth and expansion into recognition of; respect to; and communication with your inner spirit. Please feel free to comment or suggest topics for review. May the Divine always bless you and your families! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE WITH
DR. DEAN A. BANKS, D.D.

"SELFISH OR SELFLESS?"

April 16

Some religious believers so identify with the figurehead of their adopted religion that they forget the message of that figurehead. They look to their beliefs about what that leader had said without investigating the context in which it was said. They read mistranslations from a holy book that becomes their ‘law’. The problem with Literary Authoritarianism is that it statically represents dynamic principles dependent on the belief systems of the authors. In other words, it is subjective to the beliefs of the writers; whether accurate of erroneous.

Furthermore, most interpretations of the writings are taken literally without any regard to the cultural and geographic idioms present in the time of those writings. This is why our deistic Founding Fathers kept religion out of government and government out of religion because they saw the result of what it manifests. The overriding result is that those who do not follow the spirit of the law focus more on the letter of it. In other words, their religion becomes an ego support mechanism MORE than a spiritual foundation.

In their passion to share what has given their lives meaning, they overstep their bounds in imposing their religious beliefs on others. Their individual zeal to convert others becomes more important than anything; not only because they want to show others the way to ‘salvation’, ‘enlightenment’ or ‘nirvana’; but to make another hash mark on the chalkboard. The ego is our self-survival mechanism that has a job to do; to protect us at all costs. If your beliefs need constant reassuring and validation from others, then they are based on your ‘opinion’ of the beliefs that you have learned and adopted.

Beliefs are nothing more than repeated thoughts that you have accepted as true without testing their veracity and validating their occurrences. They exist in the emotional realm of faith in something beyond your own personal vision. Only when you transcend the emotional reactive realm of beliefs by focusing your mind on experiencing what is beyond your personal experience, will you be able to proact from what you know from the spirit; which comes from intuitive guidance. The resultant ‘salvation’, ‘enlightenment’ or ‘nirvana’ only come from proacting what you know by living in Divine service to others.

If you teach others without sharing Divine love it is from your ego wanting a pat on the back for helping. It is looking for ‘brownie points’ for your presumptive ‘righteous’ behavior instead of ‘trusting’ in the Divine Infinite Spirit of God to guide you, bless you and fulfill you. Any spiritual leader that points to any device outside of you is preaching from their ego. True spiritual teachers point the way to others so that they will discover the truth within on their own. Religion has always been someone else’s take on what it is to be spiritual. Spirituality is truly your own take on your individual relationship with the Divine within. It is when you allow others’ beliefs, Literary Authoritarianism and your selfish ego to take command; you are NOT living from the spirit.

The spirit recognizes all and teaches us to share equally the Divine love that is present in our inner hearts. Don’t believe those who tell you that they have ‘the way’ to ‘salvation’, ‘enlightenment’ or ‘nirvana’; that is their egos speaking and NOT the Spirit of God. They are imposing their limited belief systems on you in order to gain a foothold on your thinking, feelings and beliefs. That is blatant control, domination and manipulation that come from the ego; NOT the Spirit of God.

Some religious leaders will try to convince you that your inner voice is coming from demons, the devil or selfishness. Don’t believe them! If the inner voice teaches you to help others, give of your talents, skills or abilities to them and share Divine love with them, then it is from the spirit within. If it teaches you to take advantage of them, control them, dominate their lives and manipulate their beliefs, then it is NOT from the spirit but from the selfish ego. Be clear about this. Refuse to adopt any and all beliefs that take away from the growth and expansion of all in favor of only self-edification. We are here to share Divine love with one another and NOT hoard it for ourselves!

A just judgment is one where you observe the fruits that someone bears and decide to align yourself with those fruits or move away from them. A powerful discernment is one that demonstrates fruitful results by the actions and behaviors of sharing. Accurate beliefs lead to a deeper understanding of the Divine in which you discard those beliefs in favor of Divine knowing! Erroneous beliefs lead to the ego’s yearnings to control, dominate and manipulate what others’ believe in order to justify, edify or vilify the ego (self).

We are all a combination of many mitigating and aggravating factors that we believe in and choose to react to them from our experience of events, occurrences, situations, circumstances and the behaviors of ourselves and others. Choose Divine love MORE than selfish gratification. Choose selflessness MORE than selfishness. Choose what contributes to the growth and expansion of ALL of life MORE than just your little corner of your world. We will be better off when you do! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

©2016 Dean A. Banks, D.D. All Rights Reserved.