Chapter X. The Priceless Gift of Life and What We Do With It

Mankind United, by Arthur Bell, [1936], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER X.

THE PRICELESS GIFT OF LIFE

AND

WHAT WE DO WITH IT

The human race seems to be so busily engaged in honoring and glorifying "so-called great men," that it has had no time to glorify "the greatness of the creative source" from which "all things," including "our own lives " as well as "our entire universe," have emanated. A source and Creator whose limitless wisdom and glorious creations make the handiwork of even the world's combined great thinkers and great doers of all of the many centuries of human progress, seem but the puny efforts of a colony of ants. Throughout all past centuries, up to and including the present era, the human race has glorified its "great men,"—and while sacrificing "the very souls" of its billions upon billions of men, women and helpless little children upon the altar of its murderous and insane theory of "the survival of the fittest,"—it has wasted its energies glorifying those who, (with but few exceptions),—climb above the masses—not because of their benevolent accomplishments, BUT PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THEIR DOMINEERING BRUTALITY, GREED AND UTTER SELF-CENTEREDNESS.

We have, throughout countless ages, broken the hearts and spirits of "billions" of men and women, that

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we might retain the questionable privilege of bowing down in sacrilegious worship to a handful of egotists, insane with an uncontrollable desire for "self-glorification." Instead of evolving an economic system which would enable "all mankind" to fully develop their God-given talents and abilities, we waste our lives and energies glorifying a handful of people whom we raise to "imaginary heights of grandeur," and then stand in awe-inspired contemplation of their "vast" and "limitless" wisdom. Worshiping human leaders who have yet to ever make "even an attempt" to try and evolve an economic system capable of "guaranteeing" food, clothes, homes, and an "equality of opportunity for self-development," to the people of every land, and every class, and every religion. If "even one" of these "World Rulers" or "Industrial Magnates," had really attempted to obey "The Golden Rule," or measure up,—"even ever so slightly,"—to Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, they could,—with their limitless wealth and influence,—have brought to pass an economic system which would long centuries ago have ended both war and poverty. HOWEVER, WE IDOLIZE AND GLORIFY THEM—NOT FOR ENDING WAR AND POVERTY BUT FOR SUCCESSFULLY PERPETUATING THESE EVILS.

Napoleon Bonaparte and countless other men before and since his time, are remembered and glorified—(?)—not for the happiness, peace and security they brought into the lives of mankind, "but for the number of men they killed," and for their success in burdening with debt, for endless generations, the men and women who would have to pay the bills of their extravagant and insane wholesale slaughter of human life.

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What has continued the injustices, wars, poverty and uncertainties of our present economic system, if it is not greed, selfishness and the cruel ambitions of a few men or women each century, who find—thereby—that they can rise to power and prominence, or attain a questionable form of recognition and honor, because of their brutality and cruelty?

Is it not a fact that mankind—by now—should have learned that we did not create either ourselves or this infinitely glorious and eternal universe which we call our home, and that if any honor or glory is due for our existence here,—then ordinary, every-day curiosity,—(if we as yet possess no higher instincts),—should most certainly prompt us to make some slight effort to learn who or what our "Creator" is, and to glorify "Him,"—"not man" who is but the child of that source from whence all things within the universe have come?

Is it not time that we ceased magnifying the importance, or wisdom, or power of any mortal man, who today is—yet tomorrow when we look -around,—"like the grass of the fields,"—he is shriveled up, passed away and no longer to be found? There must surely be something more dependable, stable and worthy of glorification than the usually selfish and "always vacillating" embodiment called a mortal man!

BEFORE WE CAN EVEN START BEING WORTHY OF HONOR, WE WOULD FIRST HAVE TO EXPRESS "CHANGELESS WISDOM,"—THE DEPENDABLE GOODNESS OF "DIVINE LOVE,"—THE UNALTERABLE PERFECTION OF "ETERNAL

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[paragraph continues] TRUTH,"—AND WE ARE QUITE SURE THAT "NONE OF US HAS, AS YET, REACHED SUCH HEIGHTS OF GRANDEUR."

Do you not believe it is high time that all of us commenced thinking more along the lines of those things which will make us worthy of at least our own "self-respect," before we seek honor and glory from our fellows? Have we the courage or unselfish love for our brother man which enables us to see the suffering of our fellow beings on every side, and prompts us to an "uncontrollable desire," to relieve it and bring them happiness? If we have not, then we do not yet deserve even "self-respect," since the world today possesses such limitless means of ready communication with our fellow beings, that there is no longer any justifiable excuse for our failure to bring any widespread sufferings we might observe, to the attention of mankind, with a constructively worked-out remedy and solution for such problems.

We claim to be intelligent creatures, and to have "eyes with which to see" and "ears with which to hear"—therefore it must surely be most apparent to us all, that the world's present facilities of production and distribution have permanently eliminated whatever excuses may have seemed to exist in the past, for the wholesale slaughter we call "War," or the still greater suffering and loss of life which the word "Poverty" describes.

Instead of blowing trumpets in honor of the world's false leaders who have used their power, wealth, and influence to murder our loved ones, (with carefully planned revolutions, wars and depressions), let us sing our praises

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in honor of the "Omniscient," "Omnipotent" and "Omnipresent Creator,"—towards whom we have shown so little honest "respect," "gratitude" or "love," throughout the ages of mankind's sojourn upon this planet.

NO ONE WITH EYES TO SEE OR EARS TO HEAR THE AGONIZING CRIES OF HELPLESS LITTLE CHILDREN, A N D BROKEN-SPIRITED FEAR-STRICKEN MEN AND WOMEN, THE WORLD OVER, HAS TIME OR THE DESIRE TO BE HONORED OR PRAISED. SUCH A ONE IS QUITE TOO BUSY TRYING TO FIND AND DESTROY THE ROOTS OF THOSE THINGS FROM WHICH SPRING THE CAUSES OF HUMANITY'S STRUGGLES AND WOES; QUITE TOO BUSY TO "EITHER DESIRE" OR "HAVE TIME" FOR SELF-GLORIFICATION.

For a few years at least, we believe that all of us, "including our so-called great men and women," might well profit by the example of those few throughout the centuries, who have,—(being truly worthy of honor),—been "much too busy" helping their less fortunate brothers, to take the time to "even receive" the honors prepared for them by their appreciative followers.

This book has been written for those whom we believe will agree with us, that it is time all right-thinking men and women on this globe formed into one compact group,—(waiving and forfeiting all chances of individual glorification, wealth, power or honor),—and dedicated their lives to the "sole purpose" of uprooting and wiping out for all time to come, the world's accursed "humanly-planned,"

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and "humanly-perpetuated" causes of poverty and war.

ONLY A PROFOUNDLY SINCERE DESIRE ON THE PART OF EVERY ONE OF THE MILLIONS OF INTELLIGENT MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE MAJOR NATIONS OF THE EARTH, AND ONLY "WORLD-WIDE UNITY OF ACTION," WILL BE "POWERFUL ENOUGH" TO UPROOT THE CAUSES OF MANKIND'S "HUMANLY PERPETUATED" TRIBULATIONS.

None of us can as yet stop the sun in its course, or cause the tides to recede before their time, and the difference between even the most brilliant man or woman on this globe and a South African savage, is still very slight. No one need feel greatly abused if he is not honored above the rest of his brothers, for after all none of us are worthy of even very much of our own "self-respect," to say nothing of "special recognition" or "public acclaim." Any impulse man might have to sing praises, or to glorify something, had better—for the present—be devoted to "humble prayers" and psalms to "Our Creator," in evidence of our recognition of the indescribably glorious, and priceless gift of "Consciousness"—"Life"—the capacity to "See"—and to some slight extent, "Understand"—God's limitless creations and gifts of love prepared for our happiness, and so abundantly surrounding our lives.

All of this brings us to just one point: Wouldn't it truly be a relief to become more "childlike"—to give up the age-old struggle for "Superiority" and to live for the clean, wholesome joy of just "Living," and really "Strive" to become

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worthy of the "priceless" gift of life;—to have time and unlimited opportunity for travel, and to learn to know and to love this gloriously beautiful world of ours; to work to make it ever cleaner and more beautiful as man's home, and then to strive that we may individually become daily "superior to ourself" of yesterday, instead of merely "superior to others;" seeking not to "surpass one another," but only to overcome the weaknesses of that "most opaque" of all human qualities—"self-love?"

THE TIME AND EFFORT MEN HAVE SPENT THROUGHOUT THE AGES TRYING TO ACCUMULATE POSSESSIONS WHICH THEY KNEW THEY COULD NEVER TAKE WITH THEM WHEN THEY LEFT;—AND STRIVING FOR THOSE THINGS WHICH THEY KNEW THEY COULD NOT POSSIBLY NEED, AND WHICH THEY USUALLY DO NOT EVEN WANT AFTER THEY GET THEM; (OR STRIVING TO GAIN HONOR OR GLORY BELONGING NOT TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO THEIR CREATOR),—WOULD,—IF THEY HAD SPENT THE SAME INTENSITY OF EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THEIR FELLOWMEN,—HAVE TURNED THIS OLD WORLD OF OURS INTO A VERITABLE "GARDEN OF EDEN," AND MEN INTO BEINGS TRULY WORTHY OF OCCUPYING IT—MANY, MANY CENTURIES AGO.