Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
The snake in the pew
It was the Sunday before Christmas, and the congregation had just started coming into our church, which is tucked back on a wooded lot. One of the members reached over to pick up a striped cord she saw lying on the pew … and it moved! A small garter snake, probably seeking warmth, had found its way inside. With some care and not a little amusement an usher deftly scooped up the little fellow in a large copy of the Christian Science Quarterly and deposited him outside in the dry leaves.
It was easy for all of us to immediately realize that here was something that didn’t belong in our church. The interloper was removed quickly and easily with no fuss, no fear, no delay, and no harm done. Afterward I was struck with gratitude for the members of our branch Church of Christ, Scientist, who are alert to what doesn’t belong in our church. Sometimes it’s obvious, like the snake in the pew. But sometimes it’s not a thing but a thought or attitude that has no place.
In the Manual of the Mother Church, Mary Baker Eddy writes: “The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously” (p. 40). Aren’t these the sort of subtle serpent suggestions we should be alert to? Ideas like “This issue will never be solved” or “We don’t have enough members to accomplish this” are false prophecy and have no place in church. The temptation to judge or condemn our fellow members or those in the congregation because we think they don’t come to the services often enough, or serve on committees, or agree with one’s own ideas does not belong in our church. Any temptation to counsel or suggest anything that is not Spirit based and God inspired should be thrown out. And the insidious suggestion that a type of personality can influence us or needs our help to be improved certainly has no place here.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
