Have you ever sized up another person and decided that they needed to be improved? Perhaps you have a partner with some habits you don’t like, and you make it your mission to reform them? Or a child that is struggling, and you jump in with gusto to make that child better?
Helping others should be a normal routine in our life, and is the loving thing to do, but there can be right ways and wrong ways of doing it.
If you cling to mortality and see your neighbor as a flawed mortal that needs to be improved, your efforts to help might be met with resistance, stubborn will, a lack of cooperation, or pushback. The attempt of one human mind to control another can be a very unpleasant experience.
However, there’s a spiritual and more effective way to help other people. Rather than seeing them as flawed mortals that needs you to save them, pray to see them the way God created them. See them as intelligent, capable, able, discerning, flexible, whole spiritual beings. Love their identity made in the likeness of God!
It’s not the person that is the problem. It’s the short-sighted material view of them that is getting in the way.
Rather than trying to improve the person, improve your view of the person. See what God sees! You’ll get along much better with them, and they’ll be much more receptive to whatever help you have to offer.
God’s creation does not need to be improved. It’s already perfect.
“What can improve God’s work?” Science and Health, p. 167.
It can seem so hard to remember the truth, the truth that God made our neighbor and our spouse and our relatives and our boss etc., so they are actually all pure and flawless in their holy nature, not in need of correction. Sometimes it’s hardest to remember that we ourselves don’t need fixing, just a clearer viewpoint of who and what we are. In “the world” ongoing self-improvement is encouraged and has created a lucrative industry including self-help books, workshops, courses, retreats etc. That contains a false assumption that there is something (or many things) wrong with us. To material sense it does it seem hard to remember the truth; but to spiritual sense — praying to see only as God sees — it is very clear. Thanks for today’s message Evan.
There may not be many comments in this post because we are now all very busy thinking how we all do what you said in that first sentence and how right you are re the rest. Hmmmm … good for thought.
I meant FOOD fir thought !!
So need this today thank you!
Just think who would we, or anyone else be if there is NOTHING WRONG. . All is really well. With us, others, the world, the past, or future. ❤️
Here is an applicable prayer by a dear practitioner I knew :
“I see myself as God’s own child,
As perfect in His sight.
I see my brother man as well
A child of perfect Light.
Then to complete my prayer
I see him seeing me aright –
I see him seeing me see him
As perfect in Love’s sight.”
That is really good, Janice – very apt for this spiritview. Thank you for sharing.
Love this
If we could make it a practice to see the Taliban – not as barbarians – but as loved children of God,
(and that’s a tall order today) it will have an effect. It’s worth the effort and greatly needed. We can love them, as God loves them, no matter the drastic news reports.
‘Judge not, that thee may be not judged’ Matt 7 and part of one of the examples Jesus taught as the Sermon on the Mount.
And so uplifting to remember that we only get the full picture when looking at man as God sees him, that is whole upright and free. Grateful❣️
Thanks Evan!
I’ve been thinking about the people living in Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking over the country. These fellows believe know the correct way to serve God and are killing or maiming those who disagree with them.
I’ve been thinking there must be a good outcome here, although it’s not readily apparent.
I’ve been thinking about how to pray for both sides, the people who just want to live their full and happy lives and the militants who want to impose their religious beliefs on the people.
Seeing them all as intelligent, capable, able, discerning, flexible, whole spiritual beings. I can love their identity made in the likeness of God!
“It’s not the persons that are the problem. It’s the short-sighted material view of them that is getting in the way.
Rather than trying to improve the persons, improve your view of them . See what God sees! You’ and they will get along much better and they’ll be much more receptive to whatever help you have to offer.”
That helps my thinking greatly, abroad and at home!
Live Love-
Paula
My thoughts on this situation too Paula…
Wonderful SpiritView Evan, thank you!
Thank you Paula for sharing your thoughts, most helpful.
Mrs Eddy says, in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p280:4
“from the Love and from the light and harmony which are the abode of Spirit, only reflections of good can come”
Beannachd
This post and all the response are so helpful. So in line with this week’s lesson on Mind!
Thanks to all!
We are the “Peace Makers”. Every positive, powerful supporting prayer, having infinite power for good makes glad the day.
Everyone has advanced to wanting peace. “Let it begin with me!” Today’s prayer raised the supporting army of true peace makers. “Many more are with us than be with them”.
One with God is a majority.
Great thoughts David!
Thank you.
Beannachd
Thank you so much, Evan. I was 17 and a college freshman when, for no apparent reason, I found myself a target of ridicule by a group of fraternity pledges, led by their senior pledge leader. I knew none of them. Hourly, no matter where I was on campus, they were pointing at me, laughing at me, calling me names. I was beside myself. I asked my sorority president to stop this barrage of hatred, but she said she could do nothing. Even a tearful, angry confrontation at the boy’s home brought no relief, only more bullying.
Finally, after enduring more than two months of this, I went to God In tears and on my knees mentally and asked what I needed to know. Then I listened. I was surprised to here the question, “Can you see him walk?” Of course, I answered yes. Then the thought came, “Then he expresses Life. Recognize that each time you see him walking down the hall toward you and be grateful for it.” I started doing that the next day and felt the joy of it. I soon realized this person didn’t reflect just one of the synonyms for God. I took a different one each week and loved thinking of him as God’s expression of not only Life but also Soul, Mind, Principle, Love, Truth, Spirit. Then, joy of joys, I realized that if I could see all this God-derived goodness in him, he could see all good in me!! He couldn’t help it!!
Over the weeks, I looked forward to seeing him. We had cordial conversations. The bullying had stopped very soon after I listened and acted on God’s direction. In the spring, he told me that his fraternity was hosting a big event—-a regional conclave at the university, and they were asking five women on campus to be hostesses representing their fraternity. He asked if I would be one of those hostesses, and I accepted with so much joy, it was a wonderful event with all those who had harangued me happy to have me there and me overjoyed. No remembrance of the lie. I was so grateful. Years later, I learned the bullying had stemmed from the pledge trainer’s belief that my boyfriend, a pledge, was spending too much time with me and not enough time with the fraternity. No cause and effect but God, good, and God’s expression….
Marvellous demonstration of Love Susan, thank you for sharing.
Beannachd
Dear Susan, thank you for sharing this story. You shared it before here on Spiritview and it left a great impression on me then, very glad to hear it again! To think that you were only 17 and had such a great demonstration on your own (of course not on your own but between you and God) is very inspiring and uplifting to me and I’m sure to so many others. What a joy to see our fellow man in his/her true light.
Thank you Evan, and all who comment. A topic we deal with continually. I love your comment “If you cling to mortality…” as a reminder to take our thoughts higher. An excerpt from Christie Hanzlik, C.S. from a Metaphysical from cedarscamp.org: “Anytime we’re tempted to think that it is up to us to cause someone to learn something, perhaps we could step back and first acknowledge that divine Love is the educator, and we can pray to see each individual as receptive and fully capable. We can mentally let go of a false sense of “fixing” and hand this task to divine Love.” “Divine Love corrects and governs man.” (Science & Health p. 6:3). “In fact, ONLY divine Love corrects and governs man. We can metaphorically take our hands off the steering wheel and trust Love to right the wrong turns. The divine Shepherd makes the corrections. It is divine Love, the Shepherd, that is the actor here…not us.”
Another thought I’ve been working with: it can be easy to get off track in thinking with distracting “matter chatter” but to give up a sense of human will (that wants to change or correct a person or situation) and surrender/yield only to divine will.
Wrote this this morning.
EMBRACED BY GOD … FOREVER
A friend’s son is in the military in a part of the world that
is in turmoil
I won’t name the place to give validity to error
Saying he and others are safe doesn’t quite get to the nub
of the meaning
Safe implies there is something unsafe
In the magnitude of God’s Allness, there is only God …
nothing less than His/Her supremacy
God encircling the world does not allow for gaps in His
Allness
God’s embrace …
God’s embrace is like knowing math facts “prevents” wrong
answers … there aren’t wrong answers in the principle of math
God as Principle, allows us, His loved ideas, to feel forever,
divinely embraced, it is a spiritual fact we need to embrace
Math can seem hard until we understand the principle of math,
God can seem distant until we understand the full radiance of
Him, and then we know our divine Oneness
Melissa Baker
Thank you, Melissa. I particularly love the statement that talking about being safe implies that there is something unsafe. When we come to really understand the absolute spiritual fact of
God and man as one within His perfect spiritual creation, we will never feel unsafe, and the word “safe” will become obsolete. We will be forever conscious only of God’s goodness and Love all around all of us all the time.
Yes Maggie, same thing with the word “protection.” If we pray for protection, then the next thought is, protection from what? It implies there is some danger, something we need to be protected from. Perhaps just the protection from faulty beliefs that seem to circulate in the public sphere. Here’s to the words safe and protection being no longer needed as we are all “forever conscious only of God’s goodness and Love all around us all the time.” Thank you.
Loved the poem, Janice.True sight is this seeing above
Material limits. The definition of Mind pg 591 man is the
Full and perfect expression; Deity which outlines but is not
Outlined. meaning to me that God’s goodness continues
And cannot be outlined but is. Limitless.Thanks Evan for
this helpful leading
This has been a wonderful SpiritView and a fantastic thread of responses!
I am so grateful for all the sharing and love demonstrated ♡
‘judge not’:
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1g7sy58pwfe?s=e
Maggie I wanted to say, the word safe will
become obsolete, as you mentioned.
I send to non-Scientists and try to keep Scientific,
but understandable.
I got a reply today, “your contentious use of Her.”
She is very religious, a newish family member to a minister cousin who passed on. We are trying to
have meaningful conversations. We both can
grow.
I’m so grateful for Christian Science, SpiritView,
and all who comment.
I understand, Melissa. We do have to be careful the way we impart CS to none-Christian
Scientists. and that is something we need to always keep in mind – particularly if working
in the Reading Room and speaking to visitors and seekers.
SpiritView of May 28, 2020 includes an extraordinary poem by Melissa Baker that touches on this subject.
Thank you Evan and all for this special conversation!
Oh dear Evan, these spiritual views are wonderfully helpful and healing for me. Even with dear friends or also with me I have to struggle with wrong.thoughts about them. Yes and I know that these thoughts are not at all true about them or myself! And I pray to God, please let me see how You see me and others, namely as God’s perfect, loving and able reflection of all Good.
Yes helping others on christlichen love is wonderful, but to try to adjucate them to be better to my pleasure is use less. Thank you so much Evan to let us more clearly know, more clear than I was, that God made us a l l already perfect, loving and good to His image and likeness. I just need to pray that God lets me be aware of it more fully !