The Fruits of the Spirit: Loving Kindness, Courageous Loyalty, Sincere Fairness, Enlightened Honesty, Undying Hope, Confiding Trust, Merciful Ministry, Unfailing Goodness, Forgiving Tolerance, Enduring Peace — The Urantia Book, Jesus of Nazareth
We have two of the mightiest of values to contemplate this week. Peaceful and Merciful work well together, are essential companions. And they have many sub-qualities which must be in place to make them truly what they can and should be.
Peace,
Jim
MERCIFUL
Definition: disposed to forgive, be kind, or offer help; tender
Synonyms: Mercy implies compassion that forbears immediate punishment; charity stresses benevolence with tolerant good will and broad understanding of others; clemency implies a mild disposition by one having the power or duty to punish; grace implies a benign attitude and a willingness to grant favors or make concessions; lenity implies lack of severity in punishing.
Quote:
Mercy is a quality of growth. You should realize that there is a great reward of personal satisfaction in first being just, next fair, then patient, then kind. And then, on that foundation, if you choose and have it in your heart, you can take the next step and really show mercy. — The Urantia Book (28:6.2,4)
Reflection: A person who has done a disservice, dishonor, or wrong will need to make up for this fact. One of the first steps is to apologize. But apology may not be enough. It may be necessary to perform some kind of compensation either to the individual or to the community.
When is the compensation complete? Has the person become one who would not do again what was done? Have they transformed themselves into a trustworthy person?
The person wronged needs to set aside their grievance to judge if the apology is sincere, and if so accept it; then, in due time, grant forgiveness.
Color: blue
PEACEFUL
Synonyms: calm, friendly, gentle, mild, pacific, repose, serene
Compatible Qualities: compassion, satyagraha
Saying: Pax vobiscum (Latin): “Peace be with you.”
Quotes:
[Merlin:] To plant a garden is the chief of the arts of peace. — Mary Stewart (1916 – ) The Last Enchantment
If we cannot adjust our differences peacefully we are less than human. — Frank Herbert (1920-1986) Heretics of Dune
Insofar as you have peace in your life, you reflect it into your surroundings and into your world. —Peace Pilgrim [born Mildred Lisette Norman] (1908-1981) Steps Toward Inner Peace
Peace is empowerment, justice, and the struggle for justice. Peace is personal, relational, local, national, international, global. Peace is not found, it is created by continual attention and effort. . . . There is no way to peace, peace is the way. — Abraham J. Muste (1885-1967) American Christian Pacifist
No leader is going to give us peace, no government, no army, no country. What will bring peace is inward transformation which will lead to outward action. Inward transformation is not isolation, not a withdrawal from outward action. On the contrary, there can be right action only when there is right thinking, and there is no right thinking when there is no self‑knowledge. Without knowing yourself, there is no peace. — Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) Indian Inspirational Speaker
There is no greater block to world peace or inner peace than fear. — Peace Pilgrim [born Mildred Lisette Norman] (1908-1981) Steps Toward Inner Peace
Note: Peace Pilgrim goes on to say that what we fear we learn to hate, then we have both fear and hate. Love dissolves them both.
Prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
— Saint Francis of Assisi [born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone] (1181-1226) Founder of the Franciscan Order
Reflection: Are you going to be a warrior or a peacemaker? Now, warriors often make war in the name of peace, but there is a huge difference in conscious intent. If you have the qualities of compassion, gentleness, and concern in your character, they will balance out the qualities of strength, power, and force. It is possible to be a warrior and a peacemaker. In order to be both, one set of qualities need not, cannot, overwhelm the others.
Consideration: In war one is compelled to use the means of war. You must consider the enemy as unworthy of life, that victimized innocent bystanders as necessities of the struggle, that your own comrades are expendable. The use of the most intense power is justified to “win at any cost.”
To be a peacemaker there is a need to get inside the mind and heart of your opponent. You need to want to understand and help them. Your fight is for fairness.
Observation: There will be no lasting peace until people see more security and profit in peace than in offensive or defensive aggression.
Advice: Most of what an argument is about is the different understandings, views, and beliefs about what the ‘facts’ are.
Establish what each party holds to be the facts, but then move on. If there is an argument on these facts, it will go round and round, each side trying to prove its facts are the good facts and the other guy’s facts are bad facts. If the collective view for the future is a vision of peace, the view of the past can be held as objective history, even with opposing facts.
Symbols: 1) the dove; 2) the olive tree; 3) the crane (Japanese)
Color: blue
