Article August 8, 1903 Issue

Condemnation

S. F. S.

 Hoopeston (III.) Herald

Our Church Manual, in "A Rule for Motives and Acts," bids us : "Daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced, erroneously." If this law were universally observed then Love would rule triumphant. It is mortal mind which condemns another. Science and Health says, p. 542, "Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God's own way, and let human justice wait on the divine. Sin shall receive its full penalty, both for what it is and what it does."

We cannot be too watchful against the habit of condemnation. Looking carefully for its origin, we are apt to find it in a sense of self-will, self-love, and self-justification, which our text-book tells us are "the law of sin and death" (p. 242). Truth does uncover error, and when it is uncovered to us through our apprehension of Truth, what should be done with it? Ignorance of man's true being would suggest that it belongs to our neighbor, and that he is to be condemned for it, but divine understanding shows it to be a claim of an evil power, or a power other than God, hence it is false and cannot belong to God's children, and knowing this will remove the weight of condemnation from the brother who ignorantly voiced it, and will help him to see its nothingness, and thus it is self-destroyed, having no truth in it. The Scripture tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," and "It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?" And again, Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. By this we are not to consider that we are to call evil, good; far from it, but we are to know errors for what they are, as Jesus said : "Ye are of your father the devil," and "there is no truth" in them. Thus they are destroyed and gotten rid of, when we face them boldly and know that they have only the weight or power that we give them, by ascribing personality to them. Rather let us "judge righteous judgment," knowing that Good must reign and triumph. Our brother does desire better things, and we can help him to see and know the truth by lifting from him the world's judgment and condemnation, and ceasing to prophesy evil or to influence any one to believe in, or to voice it. A little self-examination along this line will awaken us to see many places where we have neglected to close the door upon wrong thoughts, which are easily excluded when Love is conscientiously present with us, because there can be no place left for any opposite to Love,—the All-in-all.

S. F. S.
In Hoopeston (III.) Herald.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Appreciation of the Concordance