Article September 22, 1986 Issue

How to overcome a bad disposition

JEAN S. BRANCH

If we were asked to define our disposition, would we say that we generally have a pleasant attitude? But when we feel depressed or resentful, do we sometimes put the blame on people, circumstances, heredity, or habit? Although such dispositional traits may affect each of us from time to time, we can take heart because we can overcome them. To do this we may need to examine our attitude toward ourselves and our fellowmen—spouse, in-laws, church members, the boss. We can ask ourselves, "How well are we measuring up to the level of Christ Jesus' example and teachings?"

For example, upon returning home from a committee meeting, I became disturbed over some comments made by one of the committee members. Self-righteousness stuck out its little horns and seemed to say to me, "This person isn't very spiritually-minded," and so on. Somehow I could not seem to stop dwelling on this individual's personality, attitude, and characteristics. In the morning, the problem still weighed heavily on me, and I realized that I had to get free of it. I prayerfully turned to God for help.

My thoughts focused on Jesus' life and healing works. I reasoned that since the weekly Bible Lesson^{In the Christian Science Quarterly .} was for the comfort, inspiration, and healing of all mankind, I could honestly find my healing there, as I had in the past.