Article December 11, 1978 Issue

Unjust criticism repealed

DAVID W. BARTON

Instead of recognizing the good we've done, we may have felt that people too often think of the bad—our mistakes and misfortunes. Perhaps others' comments seem overly critical in spite of an obvious demonstration of goodness on our part. Such criticism may surface because we have not outgrown the belief that good and evil can mix and are a real part of man's being. Good, perceived from the material standpoint, seems temporary, fleeting.

Christian Science shows us that good is actually all that is real. It is all that God creates and knows. Man, created by an entirely good God, has an entirely good nature, a spiritual nature. Man's being is not conditioned by matter or by corporeal senses. This truth repeals the supposed basis for destructive criticism, because such criticism operates through the belief that good resides in matter.

Constructive criticism, however, can sometimes serve to help others and to improve our own understanding and demonstration of goodness. To criticize from the viewpoint that good is the only true foundation of all life and that God is its author, brings the healing touch of the Christ to situations where criticism seems warranted.

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Unjust criticism repealed

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