Ophelius: “Good morning dear one.  I am here, Ophelius, and the Circle, and we are ready to begin.  Today we speak on the development of modern society and its reliance on, and insatiable pursuit of, materialism that has caused and imbalance with spiritual realities and their development.  There are many factors that have led to this skewed condition, and as mankind develops and evolves in the sciences, and brings forth new technologies to relieve himself of the drudgery and maintenance of daily survival, these material comforts begin to pull men away from spiritual connections and drive him blindly toward the accumulation of more and more ‘things’as a substitute for the yearnings and leadings of the Thought Adjuster to progress the soul in its natural path to attain the Godhead.
 
“The development and use of technology and creature comforts are a necessary part of all planetary evolution, for these allow man to use his brain for higher functions -- the exploration of the arts and sciences, the appreciation of beauty and music, and the development of the mind adjutants of wisdom and worship that separate him from the animal.  Urantia has become retarded in its development of the higher brain functions that regulate the pursuit of spiritual realities as a normal part of his dual nature.
 
“This deficiency is largely due to the Lucifer rebellion and the subsequent Calagastia betrayal that has perverted man’s dual nature to ‘choose sides’ as it were; to develop one way or the other, that being material or spiritual. It needn’t be this way, for a normally developing evolutionary world, material progress is used as a vehicle for the further development of the spiritual nature.  There is a fine balance that occurs, and that will eventually propel that society, which has found equilibrium of the dual nature, into the stages of Light and Life.
 
“Your world is going through a much needed correction of this perverted imbalance.  The elites, the men of power and privilege, who have betrayed the public trust and put their own selfish desires and the hunger for more material wealth and power ahead of the needs of their brothers, have become the teachers and gatekeepers of the one-sided nature, and they will guard and defend the illusion to its last breath.  They are determined to derail the development of the spiritual nature for fear that it will mean an end to their rein of pleasure, power, and comfort.  To them, balance means sacrifice and redistribution—loss of identity -- the identification of self to ‘things.’
 
“The folly of this thinking is that the soul hungers for this infusion of spiritual reality, but the ego—the self -- sees this as a threat to identity.  As the master said to his disciples, ‘how much longer must I remain with you, that you would understand these things,’ that the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God are the keys to the kingdom.  People of Urantia, let go of this one-sided pursuit, bring balance into your lives—bring God into your lives.  Fear not the perils of the coming age, and do the will of your Father, for he will keep you and guide you to safe harbors.  Save your treasures in heaven, for there, also, will be your heart.