Should we be worrying about the Gulf oil spill?

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Every human in our world experiences moments of self-reflection, doubt and skepticism. We search for answers that help us define God's role in our lives and our relevance to the universe and beyond. These are not new questions. The Urantia Book can be a valuable source of enlightenment and comfort when a soul is faced with Life's Toughest Questions.

Should we be worrying about the Gulf oil spill?

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Q: What should be our attitude toward global warming or the oil spill in the Gulf? Action, prayer, worry, not worry?

A: Thank you so much for writing to us here at Truthbook with this very timely question. These are momentous times for our planet; when the revelators say that Urantia is "quivering on the brink," I wouldn't be surprised if someone might wonder if we haven't plunged over, headlong, into a very uncertain future...

The whole sentence reads:

"Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment."

I think that these crises you mentioned - both man-made (although I know that there is still debate regarding global warming being a result of man-made causes), have set the stage for quite a need for social readjustment. (And they are not the only pressing problems we face). They bring up issues of our planet, our only material home for these physical bodies, and how we live on it - our relationship to our environment and how to sustain it - our responsibilities toward fostering natural resources, and harnessing more of those that are clean and renewable. (Even if global worming is sometime proven not to be man-made, still the evidences of the burning of fossil fuel and its effects are sobering.)

And also in the social mix are the sweeping moral issues of profit motive vs service motive in business, the proper uses of wealth, the wasting of resources, brotherly love, the responsibility for leaving our earth a livable place for our descendants.

But, all of these issues can be resolved through a true and right relationship with God by each individual. When we follow Jesus' great commandment to truly love one another as the Father loves us, we begin to make the kinds of adjustments and moral decisions that will be needed - both as a society and personally - to help rescue our planet from these pressing problems, and protect it from these kinds of disasters in future.

In years and decades to come, we will look back on this time as another rung in the ladder to a better society and a better world on many levels, just as we can view past times of crisis as earlier rungs on that ladder. I think that these crises are a necessary part of our evolutionary growth - the growth of sustainable societies and governments, and the inevitable and urgent need for the growth of morality in order to make those institutions successful for all. And this will only be achieved through our continued evolution towards spiritual enlightenment. Up to now, we have been pretty heavy on the technological advancements, as a species, but the time has come for even greater advancement in our spiritual and moral development in order to solve the problems we face. Evolution is very slow, but it does produce improvement eventually, though often through hard experience. We are beginning to learn very hard lessons about how we need to step up in order to raise our societies higher.

In the meantime, I would advise action, if you are so moved. There are countless organizations of sincere people who are working for positive change and/or relief efforts, both in global warming and for the Gulf states. In addition, prayer is always recommended: I would agree in prayer with you right now that the ministry of the Infinite Spirit inspire all the peoples of the world to unite in solidarity and brotherhood to save this beautiful planet and its inhabitants from further harm.

One of my favorite Urantia Book teachings is this about prayer:

"Prayer is a part of the divine plan for making over that which is into that which ought to be." (144:4.9)

As for worry, I would not recommend worry. Worry belies a fear of the future, and is not consistent with trust in God. Once these crises have passed, there will be others; this life is nothing but change. Only God is changeless.

"Anxiety must be abandoned. The disappointments hardest to bear are those which never come." (48:7.21)

No matter what may happen here, there is no earthly disaster that can stand in the way of our eternal future, so it is a good idea to try to gain a wider view of world events in light of eternity, and try to see how all of these things are working together for the ultimate good of mankind, and the ultimate glory of God. And then, we do our part to make as positive an impact that we can while we are here - to be part of the solutions as best we can.

I hope that this answer has been of some help to you today...these are largely my personal opinions, but there are links in my reply which will take you to sections of The Urantia Book, or to our topical studies which may be of some help, hope, and inspiration for you. Please write back anytime!

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