Interestingly, some of the best snapshots of God that lead to profound revelation of truth later on happen for me while deeply engrossed in a tennis match.
Last weekend, a good friend of mine and I partnered for a doubles tournament. To gain experience, we signed up to play at a level higher than our demonstrated ability.
During our first match, it was obvious that we were out of our division. Our opponents were far better than we were. But we played on in good spirits and with a zest to learn.
Part way through the match, mortal mind hollered across my thinking, “Boy this is going to be messy. These guys are good!”
The suggestion of a bad outcome wanted to demoralize my attitude, but I immediately caught it and retorted, “How could there be an evil outcome if I had no faith in evil?”
I did not understand the thought when it came. It was too big to get my mental arms around while concentrating on serves and volleys and preparing for the next point. But it stuck, and stuck…
I wrestled with it for two days.
What did it mean?
During the match, my partner and I had no illusions about winning. We knew what we were up against before we stepped on court. We were there to learn, not to score the highest.
But, the temptation to measure success according to a score often gets players depressed if they don’t get the highest score.
The world seems to be divided into good and evil experiences. Like classic Disney movies, good versus evil, the darkest against the purest and everyone is on one side or the other. This sentiment spills right on down into the sports arena. You’re either on the winning side or the losing side; a good outcome or a bad outcome, one or the other.
As I fought to see differently, God’s message began to clarify.
I protested against everything in life coming down to standing on either a winning or losing side. It doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone can stand on the winning side if they are motivated spiritually and working for a spiritual purpose.
In competitive tennis, you win some matches, and you lose some matches. There is always someone better than you that you eventually play. But if you measure progress solely in terms of your own personal improvement and you continue to advance with every match, regardless of the score you are never a loser. You’re always a winner. Life is not good versus evil. It’s all good.
Aw, I began to see, for the mindset that believes the world is filled with evil they are going to find evidence of it wherever they look. It’s like paranoia finding reasons to fear when there are no reasons to fear. Faith in evil finds evil to fear and dread where there is no evil to fear and dread.
I got it!
That simple little message on the tennis court was an angel directive revealing to me the benefit of holding to a consciousness of God’s omnipresent goodness. When we are clear that God is all and God is good, we find good and feel good where another mindset that believes in evil finds evil.
To further explain, before the tennis match began, I was clear that winning was all about making progress, and had nothing to do with a final score. When the suggestion came in the heat of the match to get depressed and discouraged, (in other words, think evilly), because the competition was far superior, I quickly rejected it. There was not going to be an evil outcome. There was only going to be a good outcome, measured in spiritual, not material terms. And that was the case. We lost 3-6, 1-6, but were very happy with our performance.
Whew…maybe a bit of rambling here, but the overall message is, have no faith in evil, ever. Lose it in all walks of life.
It will take countless demonstrations for each of us to fully realize the unreality of evil, but every bit of progress toward accepting the allness of God’s goodness will get us closer to winning the final prize.
When we have faith in good, that’s what we see and experience—good! Whether we’re on a tennis court, in conference with a customer, in the marketplace with competitors, at home with a spouse, in the classroom with students, or driving through rush hour, when our perspective is informed by the omnipresence of God’s goodness, that’s exactly what we’re going to find and feel more of. The omnipresence of God’s goodness!
Thank you for this comment about having no faith in evil. Thanks too for saying it may take many demonstrations to get clear on this point. My question is this: How can one teach someone else to have no faith in evil, if you still have to mention ‘evil?’ We were taught to ‘protect’ thought, and ‘keep guard’ over it, etc… for years in Sunday School, and sometimes I have wondered if it didn’t have the effect, at least on me, of teaching me that there was some actual power or effect that was evil that I had to worry about. I have cleared lots of this out of thought, but yike it’s been a job! How can I help make it easier for my child?
A child needs to know the difference between good and evil, and to communicate the difference you have to use the word. They confront it everyday in their lives, so a responsible parent would certainly help the little one sort out what they are confronted with so they can intelligently deal with it.
Talking about evil does not make it real. It should make it unreal if talked about correctly.
Jesus addressed evil frequently. Remember the three temptations? He explained it was a lie and liar in his ministry. We need to do the same for our children so they don’t unwittingly get used by it.
Thank you again, Evan – this gave me a huge insight in praying for the world, which is something i’ve struggled with for several months now.My gratitude for these blogs is unending!!
I think ‘evil’ is a social construction. What one person thinks is evil another doesn’t. What one age thinks is evil another doesn’t. What one culture thinks is evil another doesn’t.
In teaching children perhaps its better to speak in terms of ethical behaviour.
To DrDee,
I’m curious about your further thoughts…I understand to a degree about evil being a social construction, but it seems there are some clear cut evils, or modes of behavior, that are definitely wrong, like telling a lie when someone believes you’re telling the truth.
Why is a conversation about ethical behavior much different? For every ethical way to behave, there is an unethical way, so again, one gets into a discussion of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil…?? Just thinking out loud here…
I can empathize with the person struggling with protecting thought and beginning to feel evil was an “actual power”. I’ve had the same struggle coming into Science some years ago and finding that evil became more and more real to me rather than less. In recent times, what has helped me is to distinguish between what’s “real” and what is not. The material world as we experience it visually, physically is unreal, illusion, a lie. That way I don’t get confused about “good” matter, good human behavior, “ethical” behavior, etc. Since even good on the material plane is only a hint of Truth, Good. What I strive to remember now is, if it’s bad, evil, wrong, it isn’t real, God didn’t make it, it has no power, no presence even. I live and move in Spirit, not “in” this material universe which is indeed fraught with good and evil. And, Spirit is here and now. I’m not dealing with a duality, walking in a material world with the spiritual, real one far off somewhere. From a spiritual perspective, praying for the world, I don’t know how we can truthfully look at it any other way. Otherwise, it’s only a partial perspective.
Thanks Evan, this is worth some pondering.
Sancy
A little story about winning and losing may be appropriate here. I remember a song I heard, written by a folk singer about the Special Olympics, that has always stuck with me. It was about a foot race for so called mentally disabled people. They were being cheered on as they made their way around the track to the best of their ability. As the race was nearing the end and the finish line was in sight for the soon to be winning participant, one of the runners behind him, tripped and fell. A few more steps and he would be the winner, but instead, he stopped, turned around and ran back to help his friend.
Well, he consequently did not win the race, or did he? The crowd rose to their feet in applause and cheering.
I would bet their was not a dry eye in the vicinity.
Super story. Thanks Pat!