There’s a lot of evil going on in this world every day, and it’s hard not to get impressed by it if one doesn’t stay spiritually alert.
The news is filled with reports of conflict, disaster, lack and loss. Chats with friends often gravitate to health woes, and human reason likes to speculate on bad outcomes that could occur.
But we don’t have to participate! There is a healthier and happier way to think and live.
God is not a presence of inevitable doom. God is a presence of harmony, health and peace. And our purpose in life is to enjoy it! And help others find it too.
Jesus Christ was surrounded by suffering people reaching out to him for help. Despite the material evidence of vast struggle, he did not let his thinking descend to the level of those in need. He stayed above it. His loftier spiritual perspective enabled him to extend a hand of help to those reaching out, and he lifted them to a higher place.
We have his example to follow.
We can’t help our fellowman if we jump into the quicksand of error with them. We must keep our mental feet firmly planted on the ground of Truth so we don’t sink. Then we can reach out and help.
You have keen spiritual sense that is permanently tuned into spiritual truth day and night. Spiritual sense is aware of God’s presence, knows the activity of Love and feels the power of Truth.
Don’t be impressed by evil. Compared to God’s power and might, it’s unremarkable. It is to be defeated and disproved. And you can be an active participant in its unavoidable demise.
I love your succinct line: “He stayed above it.” (speaking of Jesus) I also love your description of evil as being unremarkable. . It is the same old story of blah blah blah. The Good News, the gospel of the here and now of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus preached and proved, THAT is the real news. Thank you, Evan, for giving us fresh views of the Good News to contemplate each day. Today is big with blessings!
I love the thought of not descending. That means we must always keep our thought lifted…rising higher and higher to limitless perfection. Simple if not easy!
Keeping our thought above the material picture is SO important. Thank you for that message!
One thing though – I challenge your opening statement. There certainly SEEMS to be a lot of evil in the world, but that is not the reality. Starting by acknowledging it as reality seems counterproductive.
After so many years of studying C/S, I am beginning to realize not to go down with the frey, but to keep thought always upright. It’s easy to spiritual sense but very hard to do with material sense. But it gets easier when material sense is dropped for the spiritual.
It is difficult at times to know that God is all and all when you see such violence in the world. I always think that this one big collective nightmare. I also know there is someone right there not being sucked into that nightmare.
Where it is hard to not be outraged is when children and animals are hurt and killed. I will never understand how these innocents can suffer and be destroyed. They remain intact in spirit but their experience is so material and painful. This is often when people say if there is a God how can this happen? I know God has nothing to do with it but I don’t feel the children or animals understand.
Hi Nadine,
Which is all the more reason we all must jump in and help our fellowman overcome the evil’s of the world by understanding the power and presence of God better to overcome those evils.
The statement “God is All,” applies to absolute reality. It is a truth the human mind has yet to fully understand, and in the meantime, evil seems real to the human mind. But in the long run, evil is overcome and proven unreal. It’s a step by step demonstration. And there is no better time than now to get it right!
The statement *God is all* applies equally to the human circumstance. The Daily Lift by David Hole a few days ago describes how the absolute truth *God is all* was applied by him during a savage attack by a coyote on his dog..and how by standing his ground, the intrusion was subdued and healing resulted. We just need to get with it!
Carlos Martin
Wonderful! Reminds me of some of the scripture in last week’s lesson on Reality. Isaiah 7:15 “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he (Jesus) may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” And S&H 12:352:8 “To Jesus, not materiality, but spirituality, was the reality of man’s existence, while to the rabbis the spiritual was the intangible and uncertain, if not the unreal.” Thank-you again for another great blog!
I have many friends that promote the reasons for adjustment to medical concerns.
There is a movement afoot that suggests as individuals reach a certain age they will not be considered for medical treatment and operations. What a wonderful time it is to promote Christian Science to meet these needs and brake the material holdings of the medical Group.
Of course they are expressing fear, instead of love and what God can accomplish for them.
I suspect that CSP’s will enhance their needs and maybe the Sentinel could address this via articles. Obama Care has challenged many treatments for the older community.
I love this reminder. It permits us to maintain faith in good.
And William’s comment alerts us to the sneaky voice that suggests weakening associated with age is beyond even prayerful help and to be accepted. We need a calm, patient state of thought, but one that knows God (Truth, LIfe, Love…) never weakens. We can always more whole-heartedly get to know God better and expect to glorify God in our our body and in our spirit, which are God’s, as Paul puts it. (I Cor). It is all consciousness.
Clearly “The time for thinkers has come.” (So states Mary Baker Eddy on the first page of Preface–in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. )
Here is the whole paragraph, plus one: “The time for thinkers has come.
Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the
portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and
the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling
away. Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-
stone to faith. The only guarantee of obedience is a
right apprehension of Him whom to know aright is
Life eternal. Though empires fall, “the Lord shall
reign forever.”
“A book introduces new thoughts, but it cannot make
them speedily understood. It is the task of the sturdy
pioneer to hew the tall oak and to cut the rough
granite. Future ages must declare what the pioneer
has accomplished.”
I saw the tv special COSMOS recently, a brief history of how astronomy
has brought so much to light about the material universe…the billions of galaxies,
etc., and including a short history of mankind’s exploration of the sky. Several thousand years ago, when Copernicus figured out that the earth traveled around the sun and not vs, folks did not understand this, and many did not like this info at all! It ran counter to their sense perceptions! Now we have divine Science to explain who we really are, in divine Mind’s likeness, as ideas. This is far more radical, huh! So, we “thinkers” and “pioneers” have to struggle a bit, but we will inevitably reach our goal! Mind is compelling humanity to it!!
Love to all and ever thanks to you, Evan. You are a “thinker,” for sure!!
Sue :<))
Evan: your wonderful “view” reminded me of this week’s lesson. In section 3 check out the multitudes that were watching the 3 young Hebrew boys emerge from the fires—unscathed. All eyes were on David—this includes “princes, governors, captains,king’s counselors.” None of their questioning, doubt, touched his faith in God. Further on in Section 5 Jesus was facing a MULTITUDE–probably doubters/questioners, too—and he healed them.
How often we let some small erroneous suggestion be it person, place, thing pull us off the track. But, Jesus, Christ, the son/representative of God let none of these seemingly gigantic personages, problems ,material obstacles divert him from what he KNEW to be true. Nothing fazed him, although he apparently had to withdraw at times to refresh his thought–and deeply pray—for long, long times–he always triumphed because he absolutely knew that God heals all. Thank you, dear Evan.
This is so true. Thank you for this!