Article September 12, 1994 Issue

Taking sides

Anthony D. T. Thomas

Sometimes people who have lived together agreeably for years find that they are being challenged to take opposing viewpoints. Events in the former Yugoslavia are an extreme example of this. But the same kind of turmoil sometimes happens to a degree in families, churches, and neighborhoods. Do we always have to take sides? How do we decide what position to take? Are we wishy-washy if we refuse to side with any particular opinion?

In the Bible, Christ Jesus points us to an answer when he summarizes the two great commandments: "The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mark 12:29—31). This teaching leads us to the understanding that there is only one source of intelligence and love, which is available to all—and that is God. This fact can be put into practice to help heal divisive situations.

When praying for healing, do we pray that the other side be destroyed or that they change their point of view? This would perpetuate the belief that there are two or more sources of intelligence at war with one another. But because there is only one God, one Mind, all that God creates is directed by divine intelligence, and there is no divergence from this intelligence. All are actually on the only side there is—the side of Spirit. When we speak of healing, what we really mean is that we can demonstrate the fact that in Mind there has never been any conflict.

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