There was a Master come unto the earth, born in the holy land of Indiana, raised in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne.
The Master learned of this world in the public schools of Indiana, and as he grew, in his trade as a mechanic of automobiles.
[I’ll skip the parts about him becoming known far and wide, being a healer, and all that. Only several paragraphs, but no need for this post. Great book, though, so go read it!! 
]
And it came to pass when he saw that the multitude thronged him the more day on day, tighter and closer and fiercer than ever they had, when he saw that they pressed him to heal them without rest, and feed them always with his miracles, to learn for them and to live their lives, he went alone that day unto a hilltop apart, and there he prayed.
And he said in his heart, Infinite Radiant Is, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me, let me lay aside this impossible task. I cannot live the life of one other soul, yet ten thousand cry to me for life. I’m sorry I allowed it all to happen. If it be thy will, let me go back to my engines and my tools and let me live as other men.
And a voice spoke to him on the hilltop, a voice neither male nor female, loud nor soft, a voice infinitely kind. And the voice said unto him, “Not my will, but thine be done. For what is thy will is mine for thee. Go thy way as other men, and be thou happy on the earth.”
And hearing, the Master was glad, and gave thanks, and came down from the hilltop humming a little mechanic’s song. And when the throng pressed him with its woes, beseeching him to heal for it and learn for it and feed it nonstop from his understanding and to entertain it with his wonders, he smiled upon the multitude and said pleasantly unto them, “I quit.”
For a moment the multitude was stricken dumb with astonishment.
And he said unto them, “If a man told God that he wanted most of all to help the suffering world, no matter the price to himself, and God answered and told him what he must do, should the man do as he is told?”
“Of course, Master!” cried the many. “It should be pleasure for him to suffer the tortures of hell itself, should God ask it!”
“No matter what those tortures, nor how difficult the task?”
“Honor to be hanged, glory to be nailed to a tree and burned, if so be that God has asked,” they said.
“And what would you do,” the Master said unto the multitude, “if God spoke directly to your face and said, ‘I COMMAND THAT YOU BE HAPPY IN THE WORLD, AS LONG AS YOU LIVE.’ What would you do then?”
And the multitude was silent, not a voice, not a sound was heard upon the hillsides, across the valleys where they stood.
And the Master said unto the silence, “In the path of our happiness shall we find the learning for which we have chosen this lifetime. So it is that I have learned this day, and choose to leave you now to walk your own path, as you please.”
And he went his way through the crowds and left them, and he returned to the everyday world of men and machines.
Big surprise, huh?
You could knock me over with a feather! 
That would mean, really, that we're nothing but a clot of sheep walking around doing the things that he wanted doing? Does anyone seriously believe that?
) In some fashion or another many people stick with it by adhering to some or all of the basics--weekly mass attendance, donations, confession, prayer etc. Some of them seem to get something out of it all, others simply go through the motions (after all who wants to go to hell?) 
