In a Bible story about Jesus raising a ruler’s dead daughter to life, Matthew wrote,
“And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn…”
“They laughed him to scorn!” I could relate to that feeling as one who has stated truth beyond what neighbors could physically see at the moment. The scorn comes from stating truth that others cannot yet see.
Jesus saw life in the ruler’s daughter where everyone else saw death. The observers were so convinced of their false belief, that when Jesus stated to the contrary, they belittled him, made fun of him, derided him, and “laughed him to scorn.” This reaction could have been quite a blow to Jesus’ pride and ego!
But Jesus did not have any pride or ego issues to burden him. He took action, swift action, and instructed the scorners to leave the room. They left, and Jesus proceeded to raise the girl to life. Truth had the final say.
Anyone who practices Christian Science will experience similar reactions from neighbors and strangers who do not understand spiritual reality.
Christian Science requires its students to see beyond the evidence of the physical senses. Seeing beyond matter to Spirit is the dominant activity in the mind of a Christian Scientist. And because so many people in the world at large believe what they see physically is the reality, when a student of Christian Science states a spiritual truth that contradicts the physical evidence, they likely may be “laughed to scorn.”
A student picks his battles, as the old proverb wisely instructs, but there will be times when truth needs to be stated whether anyone else believes it or not. And the reaction may not be pleasant to receive. But like Jesus, when one’s viewpoint is firmly planted in Spirit, it will not matter what reaction comes in return. Jesus acted upon what he knew was spiritually real and true, and his position triumphed in the end. The scorners were put to shame, not Truth.
So, if you are a student of Truth, constantly seeing beyond the evidence of matter to the realm of Spirit, and occasionally meet scorn for your position, don’t be dismayed, concerned or bothered by it. It comes with the territory! It means you are a world-thought shaker and mover. Keep on moving in the right direction. Christ will back you up every step of the way, and Truth will have the final verdict. The scorners will be sent in the other direction with their tails between their legs and you will be rewarded for your faithfulness and trust in what is real and true.
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| Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter. 1870 engraving by Gustave Dore. |
It’s one of the qualities that makes us “glad” to be rid off…scorn is a synonym of “disdain” as in
O make me glad for every scalding tear, for hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain(scorn) (CS Hymnal #207. If we see error as nothingness it is destroyed and we feel only the “gently presence” of infinite Love.
Lately a friend and I have been talking about the need to remain undeterred by the scorn of scoffers, who seek safety in the herd and so are unwilling to see and acknowledge the higher, deeper, better ideas — on any subject — that depart from the status quo. I’ll be sharing this with her. Thanks, Evan.
My daughter has been facing scorn in her workplace for no basis. She exhibits qualities of industry, organization, intelligence, kindness, timeliness and creativity. I am very new to CS but I have advised her to say a strong mental NO to the hurtful comments and snippiness. She is expressing her God-given nature beautifully and must mentally refute what is being said to and about her. Thank you, Evan, for the reminder that she is supported by Christ in this situation when she expresses Truth and Love.
The Bible prophesies that The servant of God would be despised and rejected. Jesus turned this on its head by telling his followers to rejoice when they were reviled and had all manner of evil spoken against them. That is the wonder of Christianity, which Christian Science takes a step further, showing us how to reverse all error and suffer no consequences from it. Scorn and rejection seem the worst of the worst, but by reversal they must be pointing to the best of the best. Thats why we can rejoice. It makes the scorn just roll off our back.