Article November 7, 1994 Issue

"The mind of the Lord" overruling human opinions

Arthur S. Bradley

Even though we recognize the guidance of God, divine Mind, in our own activities, we may not be as ready to recognize it in someone else's. If we honestly search our thought, we may be humbled to find that we have been opposing God's will by our opposition to other people's choices. Listening to divine Mind means understanding that since Mind is the all-knowing, all-seeing creator of all, each individual has the wisdom of Mind's instruction for guidance in his or her life.

A familiar area in which this lesson can be learned is family relationships. In raising children, have the Biblical obligation to direct children's thoughts to the worship of God and obedience to His law. But there comes a time when children are no longer children. That is when and why we want to be able to leave them in God's care and guidance, acknowledging that they are actually God's spiritual offspring. In Science and Health Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Like our nation, Christian Science has its Declaration of Independence. God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love" (p. 106).

As our own children were maturing, our demands, "Do this" or "Do that," mellowed into "We suggest this" or "We suggest that." We had to let our children weigh our suggestions with their own desires and be at peace with their final decisions. This was not always easy for us to do. But we were aided by prayer. The Bible command is plain regarding one's reliance on God: "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thypaths" (Prov. 3:6). One of the first things that prayer accomplishes is to put us on record as desiring to know and respect God's will. Prayer alerts us and opens thought to God. If we let fear or anger build upon itself unchecked, chaos is sure to follow, whereas persistently going to God in prayer builds confidence and defuses fear. Praying without ceasing is not so much always having a prayer on the lips as it is always keeping God in thought in our daily duties.

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