Article July 25, 1988 Issue

Environment or heredity?

The Christian Science Monitor

Some friends were discussing whether environment or heredity has the most influence on a person's life. The discussion was interesting to me because as a child I had been adopted and lived away from my natural parents. Yet, through an unusual arrangement, I often visited my natural family on weekends or during summer vacations. Because of this, I couldn't help comparing the life my siblings were having to the life I was experiencing. Although we had the same parents, the same mannerisms, and even looked similar, our ways of doing things were not the same. I was told this was so because I lived in an entirely different environment.

As I grew up, I became more and more confused, wondering who I was. Was I like my birth parents or was I like the people who adopted me? Whom should I call Mom and Dad? And where did my loyalties lie?

This became particularly important to me during my teen years. Proud of my natural heritage, I delved into a study of my background and family tree. But I found little comfort or satisfaction in this quest. Then, while attending a Christian Science Sunday School, I was happy to discover that man's real heritage is of God. I learned the spiritual truths that God is our divine Parent, our Father-Mother, and that our true home is in God's government of our lives. No matter what the human circumstances appear to be, the absolute spiritual reality is that we live in Him, that we're always being cared for and watched over by our rightful Parent. This includes everyone.

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