The exploration of the concept of Respect has been a most enlightening one,
full of interesting surprises. It has certainly made it easier, at least for
me, to have a fuller understanding of what it means to be Divine in Nature and
how such Divinity is meant to be expressed and experienced.
You may recall that I started this exploration by identifying the false witness
of respect. This false witness would have us believe that respect is about
submitting and yielding to those perceived to be "superiors", "worthy", or
"desirable" to be with (such as parents, "loved ones", and so on).
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the word irreligious:
irreligious:
- lacking in religious faith or piety
piety: [doublet of pity]
- reverence toward god or the gods
- honor and obedience due to parents, superiors, etc
obedience:
- submission
pity:
- grief or pain awakened by the misfortune or sorrows of others
If to be irreligious is to lack in religious piety and piety is pity, then it
follows that to be religious is to be full of the grief and pain that is
awakened by the misfortune or sorrows of others.
Could it be that this causes the religious to unconsciously bring misfortune
and sorrow unto others? After all, how could the religious be strong in
religious pity if everyone is happy and fortunate?
Isn’t it interesting that by looking at what it means to be irreligious we find
the clue that lets us recognize more clearly why religion is unnatural and
therefore unlawful?
Religion is all about submitting and yielding to someone perceived to be
"superior" to us. Whether it is "god" who gets elevated to superior status,
another person, or an institution, the mantra of religion is: "Thy will be
done, not mine". This serves only the unrighteous – unholy who would like to
turn the People into their "perfect slaves / servants".
As we have uncovered, this is not what Respect is about.
Father has never asked us to elevate Him into "godhood" nor demanded we set
aside "our will" for His. Instead, Father has been Guiding us into reawakening
to our True Divine Nature that we may recognize once again our True Desires and
let go of the false witness that was put upon us by the unrighteous -
unholy.
It is in this reawakening that one realizes that Father’s Will for us happens
to be just what our True Will for ourselves is. As it turns out, Respect
facilitates this reawakening and realignment with our True Will.