Article April 16, 1984 Issue

Annoying calls?— respond with love

with contributions from John Greenleaf Whittier

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

The calls were infrequent but disturbing. There would be obscene remarks or a chilling silence when I said hello. Occasionally a disarmingly friendly voice would say, "Remember me? We met at...," but I had never been there and had no idea who was calling. There was no set pattern to the calls, so I never knew what to expect when I picked up the phone. No truly permanent solution to the problem appeared as long as I reacted with anger or fear, or tried to deal with the situation on a purely human level. Freedom came through prayer—through understanding that God alone governs man and that true peace and security come from Him.

When I realized that I was forever perfectly safe in the Father's care and that nothing but good could touch my real being because God is good and good, in reality, is all, I began to relax and to take the calls in stride. I would answer the phone with a loving tone and simply hang up if the call was not legitimate. Instead of slamming down the receiver and mulling over the situation with indignation, I would quietly affirm that God, infinite Love, was expressing Himself in man, and that both the caller and I were governed by Love.

The words of a hymn frequently came to mind:

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