Developmental Challenge
By Steve Charles

Intellectual and spiritual development comprise two areas of human advancement which must be attained, if humans are to experience a fulfilled existence during our short span here on Earth. Both in the individual and national contexts, developmental achievement and attainment in these realms of life are crucial to fullest wellbeing. Over the centuries, most fields of human endeavours have probed these areas of human development, with the objective of deducing the secrets to humankind’s wellbeing, happiness and holistic humanistic advancement. This week, take a look at some philosophies of life, that can lead us to the attainment of fullest intellectual and spiritual development: and, consequently, economic and social and cultural and political development. Mr. Philosopher Bueno has perspectives for us. He gives perspectives of life’s issues, topically:
Mr. Philosopher speaks: “Let me speak Earth’s language, at least I can breathe earthly, knowing, that I too an Earthling, not forgetting Earth’s part of me, remembering always its taste on my tongue, between my lips, deep in my heart’s grasp; as one day, soon, this earthly home I will depart, to home a yonder, beyond Earth. Whilst I am here, let me suffer its treachery among some brethren of its citizenry, but let not fickle treachery stain my soul’s garment of purity, for purity seems stranger to Earth’s spheres. The trombones of Earth’s rhythms are tempestuousness of evil; Earth’s humanity erupts lava scorching and strangling love, blazing hatred and murder. Let purity’s eternity sing in my soul. Let purity’s person reign in my being. Let purity be the pace of my soul.
He further elaborates: “It’s like we don’t understand, that we are only creatures, created by the Creator Supreme, who ordained laws for us to live by. But we live our lives like there are no laws. What folly on our parts, we exercise, when we disobey the omniscient Creator’s laws. Are we omniscient, like He is? Are we omnipotent, like He is? Are we eternal, like He is? We are only creatures, formed by His hands, from Earth’s dust. We are only creatures, finite in all dimensions, not even being fully able to fathom the boundaries of finity. Yet we disobey Omnipotence. We disobey Omniscience. What fools we become, when we disobey Supremacy, when we disobey Omniscience’s purity.”
Mr. Philosopher tells more: “ Dust upon Earth’s face--lifeless, formless, faceless. That’s where we came from. But we, some, seem not to know, not to remember; we are so proud, we are so exalted, we forget we were created. That we are only finite creatures, the children of our heavenly Father, who to Him owe we obedience, who to Him owe we loyalty, who to Him owe we allegiance. But we serve loyalty to other, we serve our obedience to other, we serve our allegiance to other, other, like Satan himself, other, like other demons themselves, all they are creatures, like ourselves, though creatures of higher estate, and we are of lower estate, but creatures all, the same.
“But God is Creator Supreme, a fact, some seem to forget. And we, some, serve demons when we ought to serve God. And what are our rewards from demons? Can demons give eternal life? Why do we serve them for less? Ought not we to seek the best, the best of eternal life, which only God eternal can give? Today, some serve demons for wealth temporal. Today, some neglect God’s life eternal, which is wealth eternal; some serve demons for fame temporal, forgetting God’s giving fame eternal; some serve demons for beauty temporal, forgetting God’s giving beauty eternal; some serve demons for power temporal, forgetting God’s giving power eternal; I wonder, what logic builds their values? I wonder, what reason sustains their values? They are all lost, like stubble. They will become stubble for their choice of folly, choosing temporality, not choosing eternity.”

Mr. Thinker decries self: “Who is self that it may be exalted, be made star in society of humans? Are we not particles of dust molded from Earth’s crust, by Supremacy’s hand? Is not His molding, is not His breath of life, the being of our beings? Do we have any being other than endowment by His Supreme Being? Are we not each a degree sustained by His Supremacy? By His power of Divinity? When we lie dead in death, are we able to move our lips, are we able to move our limbs, or beat our hearts, to live again? Is not His power the power of our lives? The power of the universe? What power has self? Can self defy Creator’s dictates? Such dictates as: ‘death to mortals.’ If self is mighty, as creature of The Almighty, self is not Almighty, only God is Almighty. Therefore, only God should be exalted. Self is least, God is Supreme.”
He glorifies God. “I am only a creature, created by my Creator. Why should I seek self glory? If I should seek self glory, then, I should be self-created. But, I am only a creature, my being was created, I am my Creator’s product; all my constituents are His makings, all my glory is His glory, all my being is His being imparted, imparted to my being, His glory devolved into my being, all is His glory!” Then he delves into women’s beauty: “I must be able to behold exquisite feminine beauty, admire it, adore it, but desire not to have its secretions in my groin.”
He imposes rules for its appreciation: “We can’t even react purely to beauty--as beholding beauty we impurely lust after beauty’s purity, and hence profane our hearts, made to be pure, to house Divinity’s purity. What benefits do we accrue profaning our hearts’ purity? What benefits do we distribute profaning our hearts’ purity? What benefits do we accrue--profaning others’ hearts’ purity? by our distribution of impurity? by our profane reactions to beauty?” Then, examines deep thoughts: “To the crazed, insanity is sight of mind, but to the sane, vision brings wisdom. And I am content to have visions of reality, and eternity, be unheard of, unknown, than be heard and known nothing.”
He contemplates gain: “Stolen water is not sweet for me. Bread eaten in secret is not pleasant for me. For, Hell I will not give my soul in exchange for anything temporal; and, no temporal thing will to me be tempting. No temporal thing will produce evil of me, for, eternity’s ‘Paradise for purity’ is the only way to gain. Eternity’s ‘Paradise for purity’ is surely truest selectivity, is surely excellent selectivity. Heaven, I will give my soul.”
His mind travels society: “So, you seek prestige; you want so much to be esteemed by others whom you will deem of lower estate than yourself. Your hours you spend laboring into building fortunes, fortunes kept in bank accounts, fortunes piled as houses, as durable goods, as nondurable goods - all because you need prestige from those whom you deem of less worth than you. But ask yourself: Is not prestige better gained by serving the needs of others? Is not prestige better attained by feeding the hungry mouths of starving, suckling infants all around you, and elsewhere? Is not prestige better attained by paying medical expenses for those too diseased to earn? Is not prestige better gotten by providing homes for victims of poverty, who are too powerless to escape such wicked imprisonment, at fate’s whipping hands? Seekers of prestige, who accumulate wealth for prestige, are vain persons, deserving not our esteem. They deserve our contempt. For our fellows’ needs they ignore, but for our fellows’ esteem they clamor. They deserve not our esteem. Give them not your esteem, if they give not love to our fellows. If they give love to objects instead of to our fellows they deserve not our esteem.”
He views mortal life’s spectrum: “People of the world, work, work, work. Gain and earn all the wealth. Spend all on your hearts’ desires, and say you have achieved. But you give it all up, you can’t stay with it, for, you have to go. And those to whom you leave it all, they, too, will leave it, for, they, too, will have to go. And none will have achieved any eternity, for their achievements they’ve decayed from. And all the toil upon Earth, all the days spent after gain, end in death’s vengeful pain. But we tell ourselves: ‘Life is great!’ Only in life to rot to death. But eternity’s Paradise many forget, eternity’s eternality many neglect, toiling instead for dust, before they turn to dust. But eternity awaits all, to make all eternal; all accepting Jesus’ Grace, to make eternal.”
Mr.Philosopher teaches us to live life to the fullest, developing intellectually and spiritually maximally!