What is the common man? When God was finished creating all that there is, He wanted to immerse Himself in all His creation to fully enjoy it in all its wonder. When someone builds a home, they do so for the purpose of living in it. When someone builds a pool, they do so for the purpose of swimming in it. When God created all that there is He did so for the purpose of living in it, enjoying the magic of its wonder as He rediscovers its depth.
In religious and spiritual circles there is a term applied to self help and psychotherapy work which is ‘wonder child’. The term ‘wonder child’ relates to our deepest definition of who we each are, as we look at the world in infancy. From this beginning perspective of wonder, we then search for damaging experiences that have hurt us and created needs for psychotherapy and nurturing to restore our emotional stability. The term wonder child defines our original innocence before our damaging experiences happened.
This exact view of wonderment is the view God has at all He has done, and how He wants us to discover who we are and the unique viewpoint He gave us to look at the world also. We are God incarnate, and our life path is the journey for us to discover our God likeness within. That is why God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image,’ which He did and that is who we are. Salvation as defined by Christianity does not just happen in churches when one accepts Christ as their savior as defined by church managements. Spiritual change, defined in Christianity as salvation, happens in all cultures, in and outside of all religions, all the time and has always happened, since the dawn of Humankind. Now we are getting to the ‘what is the common man,’ part.
This writing is intended to make you look at yourself in a new light, seeing yourself of great value, also seeing your deep closeness to others in this beautiful family we all know as Humankind. When God created you, He implanted in you a talent at something, a talent to become, study, do, or build something. He also implanted in you a viewpoint that would create a need, a passion, or desire to act on your talent or interest. Your talent, and the viewpoint of wonder and desire to act on your talent, are the two parts which make you a complete person. Those two actionable parts make you a common man.
Historical perspective and religious teachings believe that all good that was ever manifested in Human history in the development of culture happened because of God’s direct efforts through religion and government alone. It all did happen because of God, but not in the way religion teaches. God did manifest all the advancements and culture that has developed, but He did it through mankind itself. The channel through which all this advancement came was through the common man alone, and that is what we will talk about here. Religion was not the only exclusive door through which all character and honorable values entered Humankind, as religion falsely claims.
The vast majority of all character and human virtue which has ever been implanted in Humankind, has been through Motherhood, not religion. Nobody is excluded from the right and honor of calling themselves a common man. Every last person on earth has something to contribute to making a family, neighborhood, city, country, and culture more complete. Manifested talent through passions pursued within the common man is what built all of Humankind, in all its diverse cultures, all of these cultures and religions are right. Character is our inspiration to follow our passions, see the world’s needs through our ‘I wonder if’ view in each of us, which is first energized by our mother’s, or another caregiver's love for us.
In the case of those who are physically, mentally needful and cannot care for themselves, are they not contributing as well, by their presence? Yes, they definitely are contributing. They were put in our care because they are part of the environment we are to overcome. Just like we survey, design, and build a bridge across a river, or we find cures for diseases, we are to find ways to provide for them because they are an honorable moral responsibility. Just like we find ways to structure a society through writing a constitution for our country, we are to find ways to implement a system of charity for their care. There is more than enough generosity in high character people to provide for all the physical, mental, emotional needs of the most disabled of our own. That is what the common man is, recognizing this deep responsibility, and that is what the common man naturally does.
The common man does not have to be threatened by religion to fear for his rejection and punishment if he disobeys. The common man is not afraid of God, as religion wants him to be. The common man does what is right by his neighbor because of his love for his neighbor, not because of his fear of God. It is only religion that wants to take credit for man’s good deeds by claiming that it was only because of the common man’s fear of punishment if he didn’t. Religion further demeans the common man by the insistence that ‘good works will not get you into heaven’. That is the greatest insult of all. If it was not for the common man's hard work, there would be no Humankind and civilization, nor any churches from which to judge the common man.
For one thing, if the common man is like me, I am not interested in begging God to get into His heaven. I was loved, comforted, taken in, included, and guided by many people throughout my life that have never been in a church in their lives. I want to spend eternity with them so I can return the love shown to me back to them. If they are not in Heaven, then I am not going in either. God is not impressing anyone, especially me with His power trip posture of threatening judgement over me. I judge myself and I am proud of who I am, what I have done, and the sin I have turned away and ‘go and sin no more’, which I did thirty years ago.
Works done by the common man may not get us into Christianity's Heaven, but it is certainly what has made Humankind what it has become, especially in America as it was thirty or fifty years ago. The common man’s efforts are what has given all the freedom, economic and educational opportunity, industrial prosperity, and individual wealth to all Humankind. When generous benefactors built a university or hospital, it was the less educated skilled laborers that laid the last brick, the last piece of sod, and placed the last stained-glass window in the magnificent buildings.
When threats arose attacking freedom, it was the uneducated, the lower- and middle-class rural farmers and high school graduates that laid down their lives and futures to fight for this great country and keep it free. They alone made this country free for churches where God can be preached that ‘their good works will not get them into Heaven’. If it was not for the sacrifices and lives of every common man in war, and efforts in times of peace, there would be no churches where God’s judgement could be threatened on us to make us afraid of God.
The common man is the one I worship, where through Motherhood, most love and character enters all societies on earth. This love bestowed on the young is in the setting of loving homes earned for them by hardworking husbands, fathers and sons working long hours in love and devotion to their wives, sisters, and mothers, in matriarchal centered homes such as Lori's and my home in Aurora, Colorado.
So, which is the God you worship? Is it the religious God that will judge the common man because his good works will not get him into Heaven if he did not get saved, or is your God the one who created Humankind by his good works as a common man? For me, I will worship the common man as my true God. I want to spend my eternity with all those who made Humankind what it was for me when I was a baby. They loved me and bore me up into adulthood. When I sit in my backyard in the evening, I look up at the stars, enjoying my comfortable home. I think of all the millions of common men and women who gave these possessions to me.
I did not get this prosperity all by myself for Lori. The millions of common men and women all through time everywhere willingly took on all the difficult roles they chose to undertake to give me this home and my freedoms. I am very proud to be one of them and serve others as they have served me. In eternity I will not be in Christ’s Heaven, but I will find and be with the common man, for sure. And I am proud to call myself one of them.
Just for the record, this is an emotional and spiritual encouragement ministry. We are selling nothing here and are not at the present time even set up to take donations, and probably never will. Your healed life is our reward enough, and we are very pleased with that. If you want to, please share your strength with others in your future so our nurturing can live on.