Unity is a non-dogmatic spiritual/religious organization.
What this means is that Unity doesn’t teach a lot of “absolute truths”
regarding God and the Universe, instead primarily focusing on spiritual
principles and prayer practices and leaving the specifics of theological
exploration to each individual Unity Student.
What this also means is that there are a lot of phrases and
terms that are used, but left largely unexplained.
Case in point: Divine Order
COMMON USAGE
When people say, “it’s all in Divine Order,” they’re most
often using it in the same exact sense as “it’s all part of God’s plan.” The idea
is that God is actively manipulating events in our lives and that every tragedy
is really a blessing in disguise.
THE PROBLEM
The problem with this idea is two-fold. Firstly, it doesn’t
align with basic Unity teachings. While Unity doesn’t have a strict doctrine to
which members must be aligned, there are certain basic beliefs that are
fundamental to Unity’s teachings.
These are known as the Five Basic Principles*:
- There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.
- Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.
- We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
- Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
- Through thoughts, words and actions, we live the Truth we know.
These foundational ideas make Unity a belief system of
empowerment. We are not powerless beings, floating about in the world being
affected by the will and whim of some separate deity. We are not marionettes,
being tugged and manipulated by God. Rather, we are co-creators with God, with
the ability to affect our world through both actions and prayer.
Why, then, fall back on the belief that everything that
occurs is part of some other plan?
The second issue is in the idea’s actual utility and impact.
The concept that a benevolent God is behind all hardship is only comforting in
regards to the minor tragedies of our lives. When struggling with the sudden
loss of a job, a divorce, or an unexpected delay towards some goal, the idea
that it’s all part of some greater, better plan is calming and comforting.
But in the face of greater tragedies, it’s difficult to see
how such things could be considered good. When struggling with the loss of a
loved one or the diagnosis of some debilitating illness, “God’s plan” seems a
bit faulty. This is even more infuriating when looking at other tragic
conditions in the world: famine and extreme poverty, child molestation and
rape, massively deadly natural disasters. How could these things possibly be “in
Divine Order”?
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
I believe in Divine Order.
However, I believe that Divine Order is simply a recognition
of one part of the first basic principle – the idea that goodness is the only
thing with any real power or presence in the world.
Bad things do happen. And while some of the minor tragedies
can lead to greater blessings, most of the great tragedies are just that:
tragic. The important thing to remember, though, is that no matter how terrible
something may be, goodness always remains. “Evil” has no real power or presence
in the world.
The goodness that remains in every situation, from the tragedy
of a lost job to the devastation of a tsunami, is ever-present, waiting for us to
recognize it and bring it to the forefront of being. It can be realized in the
pursuit of a long-lost passion, newly awakened; in the gathering and comforting
of friends and family; in the international effort to provide aid to a region
in need. This goodness doesn’t always outweigh the bad – but it doesn’t have
to. All it needs to do is persist.
This is what Divine Order truly is. The recognition that
God, the good, is all there really is. No matter what happens, we can always
turn to that goodness, remember the God in all, and move forward in the
manifestation of greater and better world.
No tragedy or wrongdoing can ever take that away from us.
*There is no official wording for the 5 Basic Principles. The principles as written in this post are from http://unity.org/association/aboutUs/whatWeBelieve/unityPrinciples.html
