From the Minister's Desk ...

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  From the Minister’s Desk

October: Zeal — The Sacred Energy to Move Forward

There comes a time when knowing is not enough. We can imagine a better life. We can understand what needs to change. We can make a decision. We can organize our affairs. But eventually, something must move. That movement requires Zeal.

During the month of October, we acknowledge the spiritual faculty of Zeal, or Enthusiasm—that inner energy that gives life to an idea and moves us from intention into expression. In the Unity tradition, the Twelve Powers are spiritual capacities within every person. Charles Fillmore developed this system as a way of understanding the twelve disciples not only as historical followers of Jesus, but symbolically as qualities of consciousness that can be awakened and strengthened within us. Unity describes Zeal as the inner flame that motivates us to move forward. Its corresponding disciple is Simon the Canaanite, its color is orange, and its symbolic physical location is the back of the head. October therefore asks us an important question: What is giving energy to your life? Not simply, What are you doing? but rather, What is moving you?

The English word zeal reaches back through Latin to the Greek word zēlos, carrying meanings such as ardor, eagerness, passionate pursuit, and earnest desire. The word enthusiasm gives us an equally fascinating picture. Its roots come from the Greek entheos, historically associated with being inspired by the divine or having the divine within. What a powerful spiritual idea. Enthusiasm, at its highest level, is more than being excited. It is Spirit expressing through willing human beings. It is that something within you that says: Get up. Try again. Write it. Build it. Call them. Forgive. Begin. Keep going. The Apostle Paul expresses something very close to this idea in Romans 12:11: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Zeal, therefore, is not simply emotional excitement. Excitement can disappear when circumstances change. Spiritual zeal has roots. It continues even after the applause stops.

Unity associates Zeal with Simon the Canaanite, sometimes identified in biblical translations as Simon the Zealot. Metaphysically, Simon represents motivation—the desire to accomplish, advance, participate, and give ourselves fully to something meaningful. But zeal requires wisdom. Fire can warm a house, but that same fire can burn one down. Therefore, spiritual enthusiasm must be directed. Zeal without understanding can become fanaticism. Zeal without will becomes scattered energy. Zeal without order becomes activity without accomplishment. Zeal without love may become ambition without compassion. This is why the spiritual faculties we have studied during the previous months matter so much.

Think about the spiritual journey we have traveled together. In June, we considered Imagination, our ability to see what is not yet visible. Before anything meaningful appears in our physical experience, someone must first be able to imagine another possibility. Imagination says, “I can see it.” Then came Understanding, which asks us to go beneath appearances. Understanding is not simply gathering information; it is perceiving meaning, relationships, causes, principles, and possibilities. Understanding says, “I recognize what this means.” In August, we considered Will. Will brings us to decision. We may see the possibility and understand the principle, but eventually we must choose. Will says, “I choose.” In September, we explored Divine Order. Order takes our decision and establishes structure. It arranges priorities, creates sequence, and puts first things first. Order says, “I will put the pieces into their proper places.” And now, in October, comes Zeal. Zeal supplies energy. Zeal gets us moving. Zeal declares, “Now I will act.”

Look carefully at the progression: Imagination sees it. Understanding comprehends it. Will chooses it. Order arranges it. Zeal energizes it. These spiritual powers were never intended to operate independently. They function together. A vision without action remains a dream, while action without vision becomes motion without direction. When imagination, understanding, will, order, and zeal work together, transformation becomes possible.

Although September has passed, we do not leave Divine Order behind when October begins. We carry it forward. The history of the word order is particularly meaningful. It comes through the Latin ordo, referring to a row, rank, sequence, arrangement, or pattern. Its historical imagery can even suggest threads arranged together, and that gives us a beautiful metaphor for life. Life is not constructed from one thread. Our relationships are threads. Our thoughts are threads. Our decisions are threads. Our habits are threads. Our disappointments are threads. Our successes are threads. Even experiences we did not choose become threads. Divine Order does not necessarily mean that everything happens exactly as we would prefer. It means that we can cooperate with spiritual principle so that the many threads of our experience can be woven into greater meaning. Paul advised the early Christian community in 1 Corinthians 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” Order prepares the road; Zeal travels it.

Long before Christianity emerged, ancient Egyptian, or Kemetic, civilization developed profound concepts concerning harmony, balance, truth, justice, and right relationship. One of the most important was Ma’at. Ma’at represented the proper ordering and harmonious balance of life. We should not suggest that Ma’at and Unity’s Twelve Powers are historically the same teaching, because they arise from different traditions. Yet there is a meaningful spiritual parallel. The universe displays rhythm and relationship. Day follows night. Seasons move in sequence. The heart beats rhythmically. Breathing has rhythm. Planting precedes harvesting. Nature continually reminds us that power works best through order. Our enthusiasm needs that same discipline. Passion says, “Move!” Order asks, “In what direction?” Wisdom asks, “For what purpose?”

The ancient Christian tradition of Ethiopia gives us another perspective. Within Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo spirituality, prayer, fasting, self-denial, devotion, and spiritual discipline have long served as practices for redirecting attention from uncontrolled appetite toward spiritual purpose. There is an important lesson here for Zeal. Real spiritual fire does not always have to be loud. Sometimes zeal looks like discipline. Sometimes enthusiasm looks like getting out of bed when you do not feel like it. Sometimes spiritual passion means keeping an agreement. Sometimes zeal means praying when nothing dramatic happens. Sometimes it simply means showing up again. Consistency may be one of the highest forms of enthusiasm.

Unity assigns orange to the faculty of Zeal and symbolically locates this power at the back of the head. Orange naturally suggests warmth, vitality, creativity, movement, sunrise, and flame—appropriate imagery for a spiritual faculty associated with motivation and purposeful action. When we speak of vibration in spiritual teaching, however, we should understand what we mean. There is no scientifically established numerical frequency in hertz for the spiritual faculty of Zeal, nor did Charles Fillmore assign Zeal a scientifically measurable frequency. Nevertheless, we can speak meaningfully about vibrational states as a metaphysical description of consciousness. We know the difference between walking into a room filled with tension and entering one filled with peace. We know what discouragement feels like, and we know what expectancy feels like. We recognize the difference between resentment and gratitude. These inner states influence our attention, posture, choices, communication, relationships, and behavior. In this practical spiritual sense, Zeal represents an elevated state of engaged and purposeful energy—not frantic energy, not anxiety, not noise, but purposeful energy.

Scripture also gives us powerful imagery concerning zeal. Psalm 69:9 declares, “Zeal for your house has consumed me,” language later associated with Jesus in the Gospel of John. Yet notice something important about the life of Jesus: he was not rushing everywhere. He withdrew. He prayed. He became still. He listened. Then he acted. That is spiritually significant because Stillness and Zeal are not opposites. Stillness gives Zeal direction. When we become quiet enough to listen deeply, we begin distinguishing between an impulse produced by anxiety and an impulse arising from conviction. Anxiety says, “I have to do something!” Inner conviction says, “This is mine to do.” There is a tremendous difference.

Spiritual growth does not occur only on Sunday morning. It happens while paying bills, answering telephone calls, caring for family, driving through traffic, preparing meals, going to work, facing medical appointments, handling disagreements, dealing with disappointment, and making ordinary decisions. We can therefore fine-tune our lives by consciously applying these spiritual powers every day. Before immediately reaching for your telephone each morning, become still and ask: Imagination—What do I see? See the kind of day you desire to participate in creating. Then ask: Understanding—What is true? Ask yourself what you know spiritually rather than what fear is predicting. Next ask: Will—What am I choosing? Choose your attitude before circumstances choose it for you. Then consider: Order—What comes first? Identify the one or two things that genuinely deserve your attention today. Finally ask: Zeal—What action will I take? Then do something. Not everything—something. Make one telephone call. Write one paragraph. Take one walk. Offer one apology. Complete one application. Prepare one healthy meal. Have one meaningful conversation. Finish one task. Zeal becomes powerful when inspiration is converted into specific action.

This becomes especially important in today’s world because we live in an environment that competes relentlessly for our attention. News alerts, social media, arguments, advertisements, television, text messages, political conflict, other people’s opinions, and an endless stream of emergencies—some real and some manufactured—can consume enormous amounts of mental and emotional energy. Attention is precious because whatever repeatedly receives our attention also receives a portion of our life energy. October may therefore be a good month to conduct a personal energy audit. Ask yourself: What am I repeatedly giving energy to? Am I feeding my possibilities or feeding my fears? Am I constantly discussing what is wrong while giving little attention to what I can actually improve? Have I mistaken being busy for being productive? Have I confused emotional excitement with spiritual direction? What deserves my enthusiasm now?

There is another side of Zeal that we must understand. We cannot remain spiritually effective by being emotionally overheated twenty-four hours a day. Even fire requires fuel. Rest is not the enemy of enthusiasm. Stillness restores enthusiasm. Silence restores enthusiasm. Healthy sleep restores enthusiasm. Gratitude restores enthusiasm. Beauty restores enthusiasm. Prayer restores enthusiasm. Laughter restores enthusiasm. Healthy relationships restore enthusiasm. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is stop forcing something long enough to hear what life is trying to tell us. Zeal does not mean running faster. Sometimes Zeal means becoming clear enough to know where to walk next.

October invites us to rediscover that sacred fire within. Perhaps life has disappointed you. Perhaps something did not work. Perhaps you are carrying responsibilities you did not anticipate. Perhaps you are beginning again at an age when you thought everything would already be settled. None of those circumstances means that your creative life is finished. There is still something within you—an idea, a possibility, a calling, a contribution, a conversation, a dream, a gift waiting for expression. The spiritual faculty of Zeal whispers, “There is more life to live.”

Remember the sequence. Imagine consciously. Understand deeply. Choose deliberately. Order wisely. Then move enthusiastically. Do not allow Zeal to become pressure. Allow it to become permission—permission to begin again, permission to learn, permission to change your mind, permission to release yesterday’s identity, and permission to become interested in life again. When you cannot see ten steps ahead, take the one step you can see. Divine Order does not require that we understand the entire journey before beginning it. Sometimes the next ordered step is revealed because we moved.