Mrs. Eddy gives this instruction to the student of Christian Science who has been hurt physically: "Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be." ^{Science and Health, p. 397;} This instruction need not be limited to healing a hurt body. A student can follow the same procedure when he has been insulted, slighted, or ungratefully treated. He can declare, "My feelings are not hurt!" and "understand the reason why." He will find that the hurt feelings will fade away just as does pain, in proportion to his "disbelief in physics" and his "fidelity to divine metaphysics."

Christian Science teaches that matter and material situations have no more reality in everyday life than they have in a dream. When one is dreaming about an evil experience at night, matter may appear very real. But once awake one realizes that the material situation was not real and that the evil never happened. In the same way he can know that evil human experiences are only daydreams. He can rejoice that in reality the evil never happened. He can know that all that is really present is God's expression of Himself. Through his faithful realization of this spiritual fact, all feelings of hurt, offense, displeasure, resentment disappear.

Christian Science reveals man as God's spiritual expression, His reflection. God could never feel hurt, for He is conscious only of the perfection of His creation. Therefore spiritual man, the real man, could never have his feelings hurt; he can express only what he is reflecting. To human sense, however, man appears to be a mortal expressing qualities other than God's. It appears he can hurt others or be hurt by them. The Christian Scientist refuses to identify himself with this unreal, human dream. Rather, the Scientist identifies himself as the expression of God and in so doing wipes out the belief of hurt feelings.

God loves His expression, man. This tender love is ever with us, protecting us, supplying us, guiding us. Holding thought to God's love for us, rather than to another's disregard for us, is obeying the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." ^{Ex. 20:3;} This is one way of showing our love for God and His law and it brings us proof of the Psalmist's words, "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." ^{ps. 119:165;}

Hurt feelings often come when others fail to do what we mentally outline they should. If we are holding thought to God's great love for us, then we look to Him to supply all good in our experience and do not try to outline what people will do for us. Outlining what others should do limits the good in our experience, for a human being has only a limited sense of good. But God has unlimited good. As we look to Him, we open the way for unlimited good to come into our experience. Thus we protect our consciousness from disappointment or indignation or from hurt feelings. God never disappoints, and His reflection, man, cannot be disappointed or hurt.

There is only one Mind, and man receives his thoughts from this one and only Mind. Therefore, in reality, we are loved by all. The belief that others do not love us is just as much a lie of material sense as the belief of pain or disease or death.

Mrs. Eddy says: "If a friend informs us of a fault, do we listen patiently to the rebuke and credit what is said? Do we not rather give thanks that we are 'not as other men'? During many years the author has been most grateful for merited rebuke." ^{Science and Health, pp. 8, 9;}

I recall how tempted I was to be hurt when my first effort at writing for the Christian Science periodicals was returned with constructive criticism from the Editors. Finally an article was accepted and published. As I looked back, I could see that the criticisms the Editors made had helped me not only to write an acceptable article but to advance spiritually. How grateful I was to have overcome the hurt feelings which tried to stop my progress!

In business, at home, in organization work, those who are humbly willing to profit by helpful criticism will always advance. Those who let criticism hurt their feelings only stop their progress.

Jesus told his disciples, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."  ^{Luke 10:19.} When the Christ, Truth, is entertained in our consciousness, we too have the power to tread on all evil, and it cannot harm us. It cannot hurt us physically. Neither can it hurt our feelings!