12/27/1979

I exhort all of us to establish a pattern of thinking about ourselves as an equal in our collective groups with others, rather than superior or inferior. All of us were created in the image of God, and accordingly, we are equal in His eyes. If we approach our relationships with others in this way, then how we think and apply learning, what we say, what we do, and most important, how we treat others, will determine whether our influence is positive or negative. The choices are ours to balance our emotional attributes. We will either mold our character to become like the self-centered people Paul talked about, or follow in the steps of Jesus, the Savior of the world and become meek and humble in our approach to others.

One powerful piece of the “We” and “Us” paradigm is when entering a marriage relationship and taking vows or covenants with another person, especially when those covenants include divinity. Our new “We” and “Us” scenario will be more enjoyable and fruitful if we can accept invitations from our spouse and invite them to do things together.  The quicker we transition from a state of singular independence and begin including our spouse in activities we previously enjoyed alone, the quicker our lives will be more fulfilled and can positively expand and enhance our life experiences.  The ability to avoid making comparisons to how we did things before or how others do things and discover our own successful approaches to life, and work at it, together, will produce enormous gratification between two people.  To forgive ourselves and others without harboring ill-will from previous mistakes, especially hurtful words uttered and practice restraint from constantly reminding our spouse of those past events, can magnify enjoyment of life beyond our wildest dreams.

The importance of divinity in our relationships is essential. A man named Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974, after being accused of writing anti-Soviet propaganda and having served numerous years in the Soviet Gulag system.  He won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature.  His works were suppressed by the Soviet government because of his criticism of Communism and Socialism.  In 1978, he received an Honorary degree from Harvard University and made an address at the commencement, wherein he made observations and warned the people of Western societies to again have courage that they had lost over the last multiple decades, avoid and change from the current declination into a despiritualized people and governing body, and most important, quickly exit from the trends and existence in anthropocentrism (where we focus on human existence without divine influence). He most assuredly advocated that divinity should be part of our “We” and “Us” collective group.  The absence of which is a precursor to Socialism and Communism.

To gain a clear understanding of the importance of divinity, as referenced by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in each of our “We” and “Us” paradigms, let’s make another reference to the New Testament and review the significance of the ancient Hebrew customs of marriage, as illustrated numerous times by Jesus when he describes Himself as the Groom and the rest of humanity as the bride. He clearly expounds on this paradigm of “We” and “Us”, and how it obviously is intended to include divinity.  As custom clarifies, the groom will visit the family of the bride and ask permission of the Father to marry his daughter.  After acceptance of the proposal and agreement, there will be a ceremony performed during this visit and ostensibly the marriage is official at this time.  The groom will then return to the home of his Father, and over the next year or more will prepare a place for his bride to live with him in his father’s home.  After the place is prepared, the groom will return to the home of the bride and escort her to the place he has prepared to live together and in unity. 

In the New Testament, John 14:2 KJV, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”  The magnificent aspect of this principle is the embedded understanding that “We” and “Us” are divine principles.  We are not intended to be alone but be unified with divinity and others in all things.  Divinity intended for this life experience to include our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior, in our collective group of “We” and “Us”.

Additionally, the knowledge that God knew us before we were born on this earth.  Jeremiah 1:5 KJV, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”  With the revelation that God knew Jeremiah before he was born, convinces us that He also knew each of us. He desires us to be forever included in His “We” and “Us” collective group and vice versa.