Do you ever feel like you’re suffering for the sins of others?
Perhaps a family member brings anger into the home, and you get upset about it. Maybe a colleague at work makes mistakes that impact the quality of your work.
If so, there is a divine law at work capable of protecting you from harm. It is not right that the innocent suffers for the mistakes of others.
Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The sins of others should not make good men suffer” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 189).
A constructive first step to demonstrating exemption from suffering, is to take possession of your thoughts about the situation. Don’t let mortal mind convince you that suffering is inevitable and unavoidable. It is not. You have God-given dominion to think and act in ways that demonstrate integrity in your life, regardless of what others are thinking around you.
Another person’s anger does not have to be your irritation. You can choose to love, rather than agitate.
Another person’s mistakes are not your mistakes. You have an individuality that stands and speaks for itself and cannot be adulterated by error that does not belong to it.
See God governing your life, rather than sin, from whatever direction it seems to come.
Stand up for your right to think clearly, act wisely, and live unstained of mindless error.
Let God rule in your life, not the sins of others.
Thanks, Evan. Mrs. Eddy’s comment is spot-on:
“He (Jesus) also said: “The kingdom of God is within you.” Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love. If you maintain this position, who or what can cause you to sin or suffer? Our surety is in our confidence that we are indeed dwellers in Truth and Love, man’s eternal mansion. Such a heavenly assurance ends all warfare, and bids tumult cease, for the good fight we have waged is over, and divine Love gives us the true sense of victory.”
(Pulpit and Press, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3:6–15)
This is an excellent topic and an excellent supporting quote from Mike. Thanks to you both.
Well, that’s 2 for 2 today. This is a wonderful post, thank you, Evan. and the daily lift hit the nail on the head. I feel as though this has lift my thought heavenward.
“Finding our way to peace of mind” by Geoffrey Barratt, from the September 2006 issue of The Christian Science Journal:
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/b34w1jpu0k?s=copylink
What a truly wonderful source of inspiration .. Thank you, Evan, Mrs. Eddy and all ….
I sometimes wonder about an estranged family member and friends who have
non-friended me over differing viewpoints over the pandemic. politics and control
over what I believe to be true and right for me. As followers of Christian Science, I
suppose we are sometimes seemingly rejected by other’s beliefs, but I have found
that despite these differences, we need to love, love, love …. them anyway – “love
meeting no response, but still remaining love” (S&H pg 586). One of my former
best friends has been estranged since, during and after the pandemic, with not
wanting to associate with me, because of my choices, but I have been perfectly
fine with that. The same with others, who may Think I am a “bad person” because
of whom I have researched to know the truth about. The belief of feeling dejected
because of standing up for my own and/or spiritual principles is so enlightened by
today’s message and supports how we need to love those who may think differently
than we. It is such a refreshing topic.
Thank you Evan and all. Forgiving “our debtors” and those who have “trespassed against us” is “Love reflected in love” and this heals.
“What is that to thee, follow though me.” is so
profound and arresting to me. Which was Jesus response to the disciple Peter when he was focusing on what was going on with the disciple John. We can and must continue on our individual journey, our inseparable oneness with God, and leave each one entrusted to God. We don’t want to be used by animal magnetism in becoming fixated on another’s journey; where and why they are where they are on their journey with God. It’s not our business! It’s God’s, Divine Love’s business and it is and will be handled. What a relief! Much Love to all.
Thank you Evan and all for this topic and responses today. Especially the link to Geoffrey Barrett’s article regarding peace of mind. In a conversation with a friend who is not CS I asked how she was feeling regarding the results of the election here in the US and she was distraught and very worried about what was going to happen. And I said to her God is still in control of our government. And she said “but he gave us ‘free will’. And I thought that we as scientists can be so grateful for our understanding of only One Mind. No matter who holds office there is only one Mind and the government is on His shoulder. I didn’t respond to her remark because it would have taken class instruction to teach a more scientific approach. Thank you for this topic today and every day. So grateful for this spiritually based venue.
Thank you, Evan.
Yesterday our Reader said that to worry is to predict failure!
why should we not go with God and Leave it All with Him/Her?predict success by affirming the Truth whenever we are faced with a predicament? Pour in Truth through flood tides of Love.
No matter what appears to be going on, God/Good is All in all.
And when he is at the dentist, he listens to the Holy Spirit and no matter what the dentist says, he hears the Truth, straight from God! As the divine image and likeness of our creator, we possess perfection, sturdy, lovely, healthy, functional, in perfect order and comfortable teeth! We praise and thank our God!
Marjorie thanks for telling the truth about teeth. It’s something I am working on understanding from a spiritual view. Everything about us as God’s reflection is “perfect, sturdy, lovely, healthy, functional, in perfect order and comfortable.”
Thank you Evan. Today’s message reminds me of one from a few days ago, Under No Obligation to Hate, where you said, “If we allow another person to make us mad and angry, our enemy is winning the battle….We can return love, which produces the better effect for everyone involved.”
Very wise. And today we read that we don’t have to suffer because of sins and mistakes (bad behavior) of others. We can go further and know that those others are also God’s reflections and He did not create “badly behaving children,” though mortal mind views it that way. Again we don’t have to attach error to a person, or be offended by a false belief in a power or force apart from God that claims to diminish our good.
Sometimes mortal mind (little-mind’s-many) seems to try to get us into such
a frenzy/tizzy – state of “mortal” anxiety with things that are not true … that is,
things opposed to God/Truth, that it is difficult to see past what this seeming
mortal viewpoint Seems to be, instead of the spiritual viewpoint that comforts
our thinking.
mortal mind can sometimes Seem so real when it is not. When we realize
that what we may have been told or believe, is not the Truth, we wake up to
the facts of One Mind and this One Mind/God helps us to see and heal any
inharmony that would Try to sway our thoughts away from our One Father/
Mother God … our – (everyone’s) perfect Creator.