In many communities, there may not be opportunities to participate in interracial dialogue or to work toward mutual understanding. But each of us can pray to break down the separation that arises because of racial, ethnic, and tribal differences. Each of us can strive to give up thinking of “them” as “other” and to see them instead as our brothers and sisters, equally beloved ideas of God.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

Racial division and fears are not unique to the United States. As events in Rwanda and other parts of Africa have shown, rivalries between tribes, ethnic groups, or religions also keep people apart. Fear, which is so often at the heart of such differences, leads to devaluing individuals—no matter what their color—and classifying them as “other.”

This outlook can’t be accepted, especially when the world so needs everyone’s talents. Everyone has a role in making peace, saving energy, providing honest leadership, healing ills. Instead of suppressing some individuals and reaping a harvest of frustration, hatred, and war, we can, with our prayers, help unleash their talents and lift off limitations imposed by popular thought.

Senator Barack Obama’s expected victory in becoming the Democratic candidate in this year’s campaign for US President has made history. It’s one example of how longstanding limitations are being lifted. Many African-Americans see a role model whom the nation could elect to its highest office (The New York Times, June 5). But some people point to signs that blacks are still the object of hatred among other races, and some have voiced fears for Mr. Obama’s safety.

Spiritual solutions offer help. While the cause of racism may often be identified as prejudice within certain groups, it can be traced back much further. The Bible records an illustration of what might be called the “First Separation.” The serpent who tempted Eve promised her something good that was separate from God. The wrong choice to eat of the fruit from the tree of good and evil led, according to this account, to humanity’s separation from Paradise, the fratricidal rivalry between Cain and Abel—and every mortal ill that followed.

These errors of perception present a false history, described in the second chapter of Genesis, which speaks of God creating Adam out of dust and then—while Adam was sleeping—making Eve, and everything else, from the same material substance. In this Adam-dream, rivalry and division are the norm.

Throughout history, people have worked hard to overcome separation and inequality. But to eliminate racism, we need to eliminate the Adam-dream. Christian Science explains that this is possible because the dream is illusory. It never existed as a reality in the first place. Waking to the truth reveals this in practical ways.

“In the universe of Truth, matter is unknown,” Mary Baker Eddy explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. “Hence the eternal wonder, —that infinite space is peopled with God’s ideas, reflecting Him in countless spiritual forms” (Science and Health, p. 503). But how to obtain even a tiny sense of infinity? A first step is to leave material identity out of the equation. When we do this, and identify ourselves and others spiritually, racism, ethnocentrism, gender discrimination, and other forms of separation begin to fall away.

God values all His creation. Not one of us is purposeless, random, irrelevant. None of us can threaten another. This spiritual fact applies to everyone, regardless of age, color, body type, gender, ethnic background. As “God’s ideas,” we are spiritual, all on a level—infinite and Love-rich—playing field. We are brothers and sisters; knowing this helps set everyone’s talents free.

Proving this isn’t always easy. The material view threatens to poison even the best efforts. But Jesus’ ministry lifts up a standard. He chose a Samaritan to define a true neighbor. He spoke with, and stood up for, women. He operated outside his cultural group, helping a Syrophoenician woman, whose daughter he cured, and a Roman centurion, whose servant he healed.

In many communities, there may not be opportunities to participate in interracial dialogue or to work toward mutual understanding. But each of us can pray to break down the separation that arises because of racial, ethnic, and tribal differences. Each of us can defend the safety of our neighbors. Each of us can strive to give up thinking of “them” as “other” and to see them instead as our brothers and sisters, equally beloved ideas of God.

Adapted from the Christian Science Sentinel.

When a close and trusted friend passes from our lives, one of the accompanying feelings may be abandonment or fear. What will we do without that individual’s presence in our lives? How will we wrestle our way through the challenges without his or her counsel? At such times, it’s so helpful to turn to the Bible with its life-tested messages of God’s love for each of us.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

When a close and trusted friend passes from our lives, one of the accompanying feelings may be abandonment or fear. What will we do without that individual’s presence in our lives? How will we wrestle our way through the challenges without his or her counsel? While everyone’s circumstances are different, most of us have had these or similar feelings.

At such times, it’s so helpful to turn to the Bible with its life-tested messages of God’s love for each of us. The powerful account of Jesus’ resurrection promises us eternal life. It reinforces the certainty that even when we aren’t sure of all the answers or why things happen in a certain way, God will see us through the challenge.

Jesus knew this and trusted it. How else could he have faced crucifixion so bravely? In his final hours with his disciples, Jesus must have yearned to prepare them for the threats and dangers that lay ahead. He directed them away from personality to the Christ, the spiritual truth that was the heart of his message. He needed them to understand that the spiritual work they were doing went far beyond just his vision. He also wanted them to know that they would always be cared for.

He told them, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). This strengthening promise is one that will help any of us who have lost a friend, mentor, or counselor. This promised peace has its roots in the unbreakable relationship between God and each of His children. This spiritual understanding is the basis of true peace. It is the conviction that God’s goodness will prevail.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Mary Baker Eddy made this point in a powerful way. The Monitor’s founder, who had faced both joy and disaster in her long career as a spiritual leader and communicator, wrote: “This is the doctrine of Christian Science: that divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object; that joy cannot be turned into sorrow, for sorrow is not the master of joy; that good can never produce evil; that matter can never produce mind nor life result in death. The perfect man—governed by God, his perfect Principle—is sinless and eternal” (Science and Health, p. 304).

These thoughts may seem difficult to trust when we hear of someone’s passing. It may seem much more obvious that the loved one is gone, no longer able to share our burdens and our joys, and God may not feel very present at that moment. But this is when the peace Jesus promised us can help. Jesus brought this peace wherever he went. It stemmed from his knowledge that no one can be deprived of God, divine Life.

This is the knowledge that empowered Jesus’ healing work and gave him the ability to stand before Pilate and others who were judging him. This is the Christ—the true idea of God and man. Christ shows us how to see the power of God supporting everything we do. It reveals that each of us is the child of infinite Spirit and that Spirit continues to be our guide, no matter how much human circumstances may argue to the contrary.

It’s this focus on the reality of God’s presence, and a willingness to trust God’s direction of events, that lift our hearts to the peace of which Jesus spoke so tenderly. He knew that if his followers reverted to believing that life was little more than a human struggle with only scraps of help to be found, their ministry would come to a halt. But as they began to pray their way through the challenges and to perceive the spiritual reality that was behind his work, they not only were able to feel the promised peace, but even felt close to their Master.

Reliance on spiritual reality will help us also. As we draw nearer to divine Love, we see new ways Love is providing guidance, joy, and peace. There may also be times when we will gain new insights and joy from the relationship we had with our loved one.

As we are able to see God’s presence as the source of the good we had with our friend, we will find new confidence that divine Life is with him or her, just as powerfully as with us. And this, too, will bring us peace.

Refuge from fear and panic is found in God’s gracious love and care. God does not fail, and His care never ends. God’s children and their needs are not overlooked by God but taken care of by Him. Under pressure of any kind, God’s love does not collapse. This comforting love is practical and present. It is discoverable right now, wherever you are, regardless of your financial status.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

A young boy, not quite 4 years old, was packing for a week’s visit to his grandmother’s. He announced to his mother that he would be leaving “Beary”—a small black stuffed animal—behind because he was afraid of losing him. When his mother reassured him that his grandmother would look after everything, he insisted the bear would be safer at home. “Anyway,” he said, “I’ll have Grandma, and I always have God.”

Adults may chuckle at this sweet sketch, but behind it is a very mature reckoning of what is worthy of one’s deepest trust. It is good to be wise and take practical care of present resources, but it’s even better to understand what is dependable, permanent, and durable.

Many are facing the need to remain calm and spiritually grounded in light of the recent bank failure in California, and the wildfire-like panic that follows such news. If thinking is not well anchored, a kind of mental contagion of fear can take over and multiply the effects of such a financial collapse.

The Bible offers steady counsel and hope. In Psalms, it enlightens: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes,” and, “Hope thou in God.” (Ps. 118:9; Ps. 42:5) And among Christ Jesus’ teachings, there’s this from Matthew: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19–21).

Refuge from fear and panic is found in God’s gracious love and care. God does not fail, and His care never ends. God’s children and their needs are not overlooked by God but taken care of by Him. Under pressure of any kind, God’s love does not collapse. This comforting love is practical and present. It is discoverable right now, wherever you are, regardless of your financial status.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, found God to be a practical help, her Provider, during times of financial need. She often turned to Him for stability and care during the years when she was without human supports or financial resources. She proved that turning to God is reliable and brings needed calm and aid. She wrote in a sermon in 1895, “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.… 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. ‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures’” (Pulpit and Press, p. 3).

A young couple survived the pressures of financial collapse while the husband attended graduate school. Already in debt, they were facing his last term and a large tuition bill. They were completely out of funds. It looked as though he might not be able to finish the degree. They prayed to be free from fear and panic. They prayed to realize the care that they were looking for was already hovering right over them, and therefore they could feel assured and safe. Days passed, and the bill was nearly due, when they received a phone call informing them of an unexpected inheritance that would be immediately available to them. It covered the tuition bill with a few pennies to spare.

No circumstance is beyond God’s help. God is an ever-present help. His might and gentle shoulder are there to lean upon when steadiness and courage are needed. There is, as the Bible states, “nothing too hard” for God (Jer. 32:17).

Spiritual facts have a practical effect and can bring security and stability to the banking crisis. But it’s not quite enough for these facts to be true. In order for us to feel their effect in our lives, they have to be realized in prayer as true. They must be known with spiritual conviction as true. Then it is enough.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

He wasn’t anticipating all the rattled nerves that today’s banking crisis has triggered. He’d never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac—the twin rival corporations so important to the stability of the banking industry and so vulnerable to ongoing troubles in the US housing market. But the author of the book of Job in the Bible offers real comfort. In the briefest of passages the book gives this far-reaching assurance: “Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope” (Job 11:18).

Rather than speeding right past that, or dismissing it as quaint idealism, it’s worth a few moments of consideration. The Bible is as plain as it could be both on the promise and on the rock-solid fact underpinning that promise. The promise? You shall be secure. The underpinning to that promise? There is hope. The spiritual reasoning here goes deep. A superficial reading—an assessment only of physical data, balance sheets, expectations of the stock market, and the mood of the banking industry—simply isn’t comprehensive enough and might wrongly dismiss the power of God-derived hope.

But look deeper. There are profound spiritual facts that need to be reckoned with. Take those facts into account, and the prognosis grows brighter. There is hope because there is a heavenly Father who cares for you. There is hope because this heavenly Father is also the divine Principle of the universe and maintains order throughout this universe. There is hope because the Father’s care is tangible and practical and keeps His creation in perfect balance—without excess and definitely without deficiency. There is hope because there is the certainty of good that His presence and power bring to our lives. There is hope because this Principle governs everything there is to govern, down to the smallest details. There is hope because this Principle, God, provides us with His Science, His law. And His Science maintains the productivity of even the largest aspects of creation.

And because there is hope, “thou shalt be secure.” This is a promise that has scientific certainty to it. The Almighty Himself backs it. That’s more reliable backing than even the very solid support the Fed may give to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy discovered the divine Science of God—what Christ Jesus spoke of as the Comforter, or Spirit of truth. She wrote in her primary work on Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Security for the claims of harmonious and eternal being is found only in divine Science” (Science and Health, p. 232). And because this Science and the hope it offers exists everywhere, the security we need is universally available.

These spiritual facts have a practical effect and can bring security and stability to the banking crisis. But it’s not quite enough for these facts to be true. In order for us to feel their effect in our lives, they have to be realized in prayer as true. They must be known with spiritual conviction as true. Then it is enough. Taking some moments to affirm the presence and power of Principle and the security-enhancing operation of divine Science has a problem-solving impact. The spiritual fact of hope-based security begins to show up in daily life. Then not just the person praying, but society as a whole, is benefited.

The Bible speaks of “the carnal mind”—a supposititious mentality committed to an ultimately hopeless view of life. This carnal mind tries to crowd out hope by sowing doubt and uncertainty into humanity’s outlook. The good news? The hope that springs from knowing the Divine can’t be crowded out. So, nothing the carnal mind can do will ever undo divinely based security. God’s security is woven through His creation. That means stability and security are on hand throughout your life. You can affirm that to be true even before you see the evidence of its truth. As you do so, your own life will grow steadier. And your prayers will also help put the banking industry on firmer ground.

As this family found, trusting God to care for us in every way is a powerful response to the doubts and fears generated by media reports or personal evidence of any limitation of good in our lives. God is Love, infinite Love—a fathering-mothering Love. He is fully willing and fully able to care for each of us as His dear children.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

“I wasn’t even sure I should come tonight,” the young mom said. “Gas is so expensive, and we’ve been worried about my husband’s job.” Her comments resonated. We’ve all seen gas and food prices steadily rising, and the news reports a higher jobless rate and an economic slowdown.

To provide another perspective, a friend shared with the mom her own experience shortly after she and her husband got married. Both of them had substantially lowered incomes—the wife as she relocated to a job in a new state, and the husband as two temporary jobs were completed. In those first months of their marriage, by mid-month they were trying to figure out how to make do with less money than they needed for their expenses.

The wife was fearful. She’d never been on such shaky ground financially. But her husband was sure that God would supply what they needed. On the surface, that confidence might appear absurd and not very practical. But both husband and wife felt they knew about God from their study of the Bible. They knew of God’s practical providing in people’s lives.

The Psalmist almost scolds his readers for doubting God’s ability to care for them, asking, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Ps. 78:19). He reminds them of how God provided to the children of Israel water (from a rock!) and food (from out of nowhere), and how He had guided them safely in their long journey—clear evidence of God’s continuing ability to supply what they needed.

Jesus consistently trusted God’s ability to provide what was needed. His knowledge of God’s infinite fathering Love was shown practically when he fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and some small fish. He found tax money in a fish’s mouth, and he always had food and lodging for himself and his disciples, although he apparently never had a paycheck.

The newlyweds were sure that God was still God, so it was natural for them to trust Him to “furnish a table” in their wilderness. Being grateful for all the good already evidenced in their lives helped keep them from being afraid. They were also trusting that it was really God’s power and love providing for them, and they were careful not to think that it was an employer’s paycheck that was meeting their needs. A subtle distinction perhaps, but the couple felt it was very important. They each worked to use their God-given talents and to serve God. Payment was natural for such service. Grateful as they were for those paychecks, they were consciously giving over their care to God.

They came to see that they needed to change not only their expectations but also their behavior to be more principled, more God-centered. So at the beginning of the month they put aside a small amount to save, money to pay on a debt, and money they wanted to contribute to their church. The wife vowed they’d happily eat the humblest thing she could think of for the whole month if necessary. She was no longer afraid. They went forward with their prayers and their plan.

Within a year, both husband and wife had substantial salary increases. The debt was paid off, their monthly savings increased, and there was always money for expenses and church contributions. The wife was never again afraid of not having enough income to meet their needs. And there always was enough. They were very grateful.

In the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (Science and Health, p. vii). That sustaining infinite is, of course, God. And to trust Him to care for us in every way is a powerful response to the doubts and fears generated by media reports or personal evidence of any limitation of good in our lives. God is Love, infinite Love—a fathering-mothering Love. He is fully willing and fully able to care for each of us as His dear children.

So whenever fear nags at your thought saying, Can God really take care of us? The answer is, Yes.

Article from the CS Monitor.

Parents naturally want to protect their children, but they can’t always be with them. Even then, though, children are safe with their divine Father-Mother, God. Affirming this diligently for children, we can do a lot toward making their safety seen and felt.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

June 15. A teenage girl goes to sea, participating in a wilderness program for young people. She’ll help sail a 120-foot, tall-masted schooner on a three-week voyage on the open ocean. She has no sailing experience, but will be instructed in all aspects of running the ship, and will be expected to help with even challenging tasks such as climbing the rigging to set and strike the sails. Her mom and dad hug her good-bye, joyfully anticipating a wonderful experience for her and promising to pray for her every day. Her mother reminds her of a verse from the Bible: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).

June 22. The girl’s father tries to get information on how the trip is going, but there’s no news. Her mother remains unconcerned, confident of their daughter’s safety. She has an abiding trust that wherever her daughter is, God is there, too, shepherding her—protecting, guiding, and sustaining her. She knows this divine Love to be a constant—an ever-present Principle—that will be there for her daughter in any kind of trouble. The Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).

Her mother has seen proof of this before. Several years ago, for example, her college-age son drove cross-country with a load of expensive music equipment in the back of his pickup truck. During his trip, late one evening, the mother experienced something unusual. Thoughts of God’s care for her son began to wash into her consciousness without any initiative on her part. Thoughts of his inseparability from God—from divine Life and Love—and of God’s deep love for him. Wave after wave of these holy ideas kept coming for an hour or two, gently but persistently. The mother cherished these thoughts, in awe of what she recognized as angel messages. Finally, when the mother was completely at peace about her son’s safety, the thoughts subsided.

Later, she learned that her son’s truck had broken down. It was towed to a garage where it would be repaired the next morning. Not wanting to leave his music equipment unattended, the young man decided to spend the night in the truck. He was in an apparently rough part of town, and at first he couldn’t sleep for uneasiness. But after a while, he felt at peace, and the night passed without incident. He also told his mother that his dog affectionately licked him all night! His mother believed that the peace her son felt was a reflection of divine Love’s presence and care for him.

July 5. The sea voyage is over. The girl is back on land. She greets her parents with smiles and tales of adventure. She did climb the rigging, assign tasks as watch leader, and acquire skill as a helmsman. There’s a new confidence in her expression. She tells about a squall when lightning struck within a tenth of a mile from the ship. The mother thanks God, with no thought of what might have happened. Later, the mother asks, “Was there a time when you felt God’s presence?”

“Oh, yeah, the entire trip,” the daughter replies.

A favorite psalm reads: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (139:7–10).

And Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science, wrote: “God is universal; confined to no spot, defined by no dogma, appropriated by no sect. Not more to one than to all, is God demonstrable as divine Life, Truth, and Love; and His people are they that reflect Him—that reflect Love. Again, this infinite Principle, with its universal manifestation, is all that really is or can be; hence God is our Shepherd. He guards, guides, feeds, and folds the sheep of His pasture; and their ears are attuned to His call. In the words of the loving disciple, ‘My sheep hear my voice, … and they follow me; … neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand’” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 150–151).

Affirming this diligently for children, we can do a lot toward making their safety seen and felt.

Quick to credit God for his accomplishments, Christ Jesus constantly redirected attention from himself to God. As the light of Christ shines through us too, we redirect attention from ourselves to God, giving credit where credit is due. What’s more, as our good works glorify God, we demonstrate our oneness with Him, just as Jesus did.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

Sometimes humility gets a bad rap, as though it were akin to servility. On the contrary, humility is allied to divine power. As Tryon Edwards, a 19th-century American theologian, put it, “True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.”

Jesus would have agreed. Quick to credit God for his accomplishments, Jesus constantly redirected attention from himself to God.

Jesus was arguably the most humble—and most powerful—man of all time. After healing a man who’d been lame for 33 years, he said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19). Later, as if to underscore the point, he added, “I can of mine own self do nothing.”

But Jesus’ insistence upon crediting God for his achievements suggests more than humility. It shows his clear understanding of his identity as the Son of God. He described that divine kinship when he said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

In her primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy amplified Jesus’ statement of his oneness with God, explaining that they were “one in quality, not in quantity.” Then she added, “As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being” (Science and Health, p. 361).

No one has ever lived the Christ as fully as Jesus did. But the Christ neither began with Jesus’ birth nor ended with his ascension. As Mrs. Eddy explained, “Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, —the reflection of God,—has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth” (Science and Health, p. 333).

From a spiritual perspective, we have every right to be among those “prepared to receive Christ, Truth.” Each of us is God’s child. The first chapter of Genesis confirms this, stating, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27).

As the image of God, divine Spirit, we’re purely spiritual. We may not always feel that way, but the way we feel doesn’t change the way God created us. Rather, the change needed is a better understanding of ourselves (and others) as God’s creation. The more fully we grasp that truth, the more prepared we are to live in unity with our divine source, just as Jesus did.

Mrs. Eddy described this spiritualization of thought as becoming a “transparency for Truth”: “The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. The light and the glass never mingle, but as matter, the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality—much error—in order to become a better transparency for Truth” (Science and Health, p. 295).

Jesus so fully understood his oneness with God that he carries the title Christ Jesus, which denotes his Godlike nature. None of us is known by the title Christ, but we can live more Christlike lives by becoming better transparencies for Truth. In fact, Jesus urged us to do just that. He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

As the light of Christ shines through us, we redirect attention from ourselves to God, giving credit where credit is due. What’s more, as our good works glorify God, we demonstrate our oneness with Him, just as Jesus did.

As new technologies shrink our world, loving cooperation among peoples and nations becomes more imperative. While prayers for our world do not outline specific and political ways to deal with globalization issues, they do enhance our ability to live together peacefully and productively and to find the necessary answers.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

As new technologies shrink our world, loving cooperation among peoples and nations becomes more imperative. What happens on the other side of the globe affects us as never before, and vice versa. There is a great need for looking intelligently at this interaction so that all will find a more universal blessing from globalization and not fear it.

A recent story in the Monitor presents some of the problems that demand global cooperation. It begins, “The long trend toward open trade and global markets is under new stress as problems from food shortages to climate change test its staying power” (“As G-8 meets, free trade under fire,” July 7). While prayers for our world do not outline specific and political ways to deal with globalization issues, they do enhance our ability to live together peacefully and productively and to find the necessary answers.

Many people from all over the world adhere to the counsel to “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 19:19). Today the world is becoming one grand neighborhood. This may enlarge the challenges of loving our neighbor as ourselves, but it also enlarges the rewards. We need to keep this in mind as we work through specific problems that only a genuine, unselfish, neighborly love can solve.

“Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power,” wrote Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Monitor (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 192). The desire to live globally and peacefully does indeed “hold human thought in line with unselfed love” and lets the power of this love bless universally. We can count on this divine power to “unself” the motives of all engaged in equalizing the benefits of a global economy. The challenge of unemployment in the home country, which results when jobs are shipped to other countries where salaries are lower, must be met intelligently. Certainly there is no real value in merely moving unemployment from one country to another.

The Monitor article cited above also quotes United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon as saying, “Never in recent memory has the global economy been under such stress. More than ever, this is the moment to prove that we can cooperate globally to deliver results: in meeting the needs of the hungry and the poor, in promoting sustainable technologies for all, in saving the world from climate change—and in keeping the global economy growing.”

It’s obvious that both the developing and developed nations must face these universal problems together. This is not the time when any nation can withdraw into a world of its own. Problems such as climate change affect everyone. It may appear that other issues, such as food shortages, belong more to developing countries. In the long run, all earth’s citizens, being neighbors, must work together for the good of all.

Individuals, one by one, are having experiences preparing them to think, pray, and live globally.

Several years ago, a woman toured many countries and four continents with a program on spiritual healing. Through these meetings, often employing interpreters, she learned there were many similarities in the problems these countries were facing. Even more instructive to her were the many times in which she found that the same spiritual truths were used in their prayers for their individual nations, underscoring that there is one God.

The woman states that from that time on she has recognized more keenly the brotherhood of all humanity and the divine power this brotherhood exercises in solving world problems. She feels that what is true in her experience is also true in the lives of people worldwide. We are being prepared to live globally and to give up what might be considered merely selfish personal and national interests.

Growing from “I and my” to “we and our” moves us out of limited living to inhabit a globe of limitless possibilities for all. While this won’t be accomplished overnight, our prayers, and not our fears, make universal progress possible.

Everyone affected by financial challenges can act intelligently and wisely to restore stability. Obeying God, divine Mind, will help us make our way. As we turn thought in this more spiritual direction, toward Spirit and away from the pull of matter, we all can be provided for.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

Instability on the stock market, the weak dollar, and a certain amount of financial fragility abroad—along with verbal and financial speculation about oil prices—are giving people the jitters. The result is fear and a growing pessimism about the economic future of the United States and the world at large. It’s important not to let this fear continue to grow. Economies are not blessed when people are fearful. In fact, prayer to deny fear in any field of action is a necessity.

While there are no stories in the Bible of stock markets saved through prayer, there are plenty of people who were protected—who had the money or other means that they needed for survival. A common element in many of these accounts is an individual’s desire to be honest, to do right, and to love God.

Speaking of her own times—which bear an uncanny resemblance to ours—Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “This period is not essentially one of conscience …. This is a period of doubt, inquiry, speculation, selfishness; of divided interests, marvellous good, and mysterious evil” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 237).

Looking at our times through this lens reveals the same characteristics. Nations seem fragmented into competing interests, and speculators take advantage of business and political weaknesses. Divided goals make a unified response to financial threats more difficult. Looking to material conditions and projections seems to be the only practical approach to prosperity.

The Bible begs to differ. It recounts experiences individuals had of food that should have run out, but didn’t, of oil that multiplied, of water that appeared in abundance in the desert in response to prayers from people who desired to be honest, to do right, and to love God.

They were, to some extent, perceiving that behind creation there is a divine intelligence, or Mind, that brings everyone and everything together. Mind transcends local, national, and even international agendas. Its only agenda is good. As the supreme intelligence of the universe, it enables us to act wisely, to make good choices, and to remain calm in the midst of financial challenges. To pray to see oneself and others as subject to this one Mind—not out of any desire to get one’s own way but out of love for humanity—is to realize that in Mind there can be no division because Mind is the source of all oneness.

Mind, being God, can include only good, and it is always pure. As we live in harmony with Mind, it’s natural for us, as the children of this Mind, to experience goodness and purity because this is what Mind is giving us all the time. Mind protects its children from speculative ventures, from doubt and fear, from loss and lack. Specifically praying for our families, communities, and nations and affirming the spiritual reality of the one Mind, governing them, can only bless each one.

There is another side to the conditions of these times. Mrs. Eddy wrote, “But sin can only work out its own destruction; and reform does and must push on the growth of mankind” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 237). To build a house or a business on speculation, greed, or division instills in it the seeds of its own destruction. Only reliance on Spirit offers true stability and peace.

That doesn’t mean, however, that those who have built in this way are lost. It is possible to change direction, to become supporters of stability instead of fear. To embrace goodness instead of materialism and greed. Doing this allies one with Christ, the spiritual idea of God that reforms and redeems—and also uplifts all people to see God’s ever-present supply for their needs.

Everyone affected by financial challenges can act intelligently and wisely to restore stability. Obedience to the one Mind’s guiding will help them make their way. As we turn thought in this more spiritual direction—toward Spirit and away from the pull of matter—the individuals involved will be sustained even if they hit some bumpy places on the road to stability. More than this, such prayer will help restore both stability and prosperity to our world.

Adapted from www.spirituality.com.

Is praying for one’s own health and welfare selfish? And can prayer help those affected by natural and social disasters? Christian Science has answers.]]> from The Christian Science Monitor

Prayer works. It heals. It reforms human nature. Prayer restores lost and broken hearts and lives. Still, many people wrestle with and question the motives, reach, and value of prayer—in the face of personal health challenges as well as complex national troubles.

Is praying for your own health and welfare selfish?

Our answers come straight from the Christian Science concept of God and the life He creates. If God were a benign but unknowable father figure, then His aid might be suspect. The God we love and rely on is one universal Father-Mother—Love itself, omnipotent and everywhere present, and the creative Principle of all existence, eternal Spirit, the always-caring and all-good Mind that governs and communicates with all creation.

And the nature of this creation? If men and women were nothing but reason-endowed higher organisms, vulnerable to disease, malfunction, and genetically transmitted flaws, then even God’s help wouldn’t be enough to cope. However, reasoning spiritually from the Genesis 1 account of man, male and female, made “in the image” of God, Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit …. Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique. He is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas; the generic term for all that reflects God’s image and likeness …” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 475).

Then, prayer for healing in Christian Science isn’t pleading to a remote God for physical change. It begins with acknowledging the wholeness of God and all He creates. It welcomes the Christ into thought, as God’s message of spiritual wholeness and harmony. It trusts the divine law of wholeness to govern and correct the patient’s thoughts, remove fears, and dissolve feelings of separation from God. As people awaken to life’s spiritual realities, their bodies conform with normalized health. But the aim of Christian healing goes beyond health to the betterment of character. It purifies desires, deepens honesty, and spawns compassion.

How can prayer help those suffering from natural and social disasters?

Prayer impels brotherly love and action. It also can help overturn elements in thinking that engender oppression. The prophet Jeremiah heard God say: “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? … Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:23, 24). Even amid devastation, God is there, even for those whose lives have been cut short. A loving “God at hand” did not cause storms or destruction. Divine Life causes life, and causes those who love neighbors near and far to reach out in prayer and with helping hands.

As to what prayer can do about political oppression, Jesus said: “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11:21, 22). Some might identify the “strong man” as a ruler. But Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Mortal mind is ‘the strong man,’ which must be held in subjection before its influence upon health and morals can be removed. This error conquered, we can despoil ‘the strong man’ of his goods, —namely, of sin and disease” (Science and Health, p. 400).

Mortal mind, the human belief that life and intelligence are confined in matter, fathers all oppressions and fears. It lies at the root of social dysfunction, as surely as it does bodily ailments. Prayer subjects mortal mentality to Christ, the divine Truth of being—and error can’t resist the truth any more than darkness can resist light. Progress can come quickly as thought changes within a body politic: Witness the fall of apartheid in South Africa. And millions were praying for peaceful change.

Through prayer, the light of the Christ begets more light. May our world feel its liberating presence today.

Adapted from the Christian Science Sentinel.