Joel taught that rising in consciousness to realized Christhood is not ultimately for our own benefit, but the means to uplift the consciousness of mankind universally and dispel the ignorance of truth that is at the root of all human trouble. He spoke often about how we as individuals can be an influence in bringing that freedom to the world.
On the first of each month, we post an excerpt about world work from Joel’s books or classes. The following excerpt is from Chapter 10, “The Government Is on His Shoulders,” in Our Spiritual Resources. It is posted with kind permission from Acropolis Books, the publisher of record for Joel’s authentic writings.
Let us not for a moment think that we can take a spiritual stand for the world and make its demonstration. Our prayer is not that the world follow some predetermined course of action which we have decided is the right one, but that material sense be destroyed in order that brotherly love may be established in the hearts and souls and minds of peoples and governments all over the world.
In political life, it must certainly be recognized that there is a great deficiency of spiritual love. Politicians who occupy positions of great power and apparently hold the fate of millions in their grasp speak eloquently about the spiritual principles upon which our nation was founded, but instead of taking a firm stand for a course of action which would preserve those principles and be in the best interests of the country, they usually count the number of votes involved and then act from the standpoint of expediency.
Spiritual students, on the other hand, understand that man shall not live by bread alone—not dollars alone, nor votes alone—but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. In the secrecy and sanctity of our homes, you and I can take this spiritual stand. Our attitude is that there be neither good humanhood nor bad humanhood, but that the activity of the Christ destroy material sense and be released into human consciousness to introduce the reign of love—My kingdom—not that which is humanly right or humanly wrong, but the spiritual kingdom.
All over the world there are dedicated students who at least three times a day are turning within for a realization of the Christ to dispel material sense in human consciousness, whether that human consciousness is north or south, east or west, occidental or oriental. Through such meditation, there is the possibility of influencing events all over this world—not by praying for your side or for my side, but by dedicating ourselves to the realization of the activity of the Christ, dispelling and destroying material sense and revealing the spiritual kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Then we shall find that here and there public officials, without knowing why, are responding to the spiritual impulse and are becoming the avenue through which greater good flows into the world.
Behind the scenes, there is a spiritual power operating, impelling men to do things contrary even to their own best vote-getting interests, and eventually through the activity of that impersonal power, we shall witness the kingdom of God established on earth.
So far as the world is concerned, it must continue to work out its problems in whatever way it seems led, but our function is to be that spiritual underground which is praying continuously that material sense be destroyed, that “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” Every person has the right to demonstrate his own state of consciousness: the world has the right to live according to its, although we continue to pray that that state of consciousness be lifted up to Christ-consciousness.