Article August 26, 1996 Issue

No score card of wrongs

Janet Stacey McConnell

In the game of golf, one individual keeps a score card of everyone's performance and then totals up all the points at the end to see who has won. In our relationships with others, do we sometimes keep mental score cards? Perhaps we occasionally take out the score card and review it, tallying up what has been done as good or bad. In this game, however, no one wins.

How do we handle these unhappy memories, which would make us believe that others have wronged us? Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, states, "Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over other men's sins, but delights in the truth" (13:5, 6, The New English Bible).^{ The King James Version reads, "Charity ... doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil" (I Cor. 13:4, 5).} Paul understood that God, divine Love, destroys all evil through His own infinite goodness. Christ Jesus knew the power of this love when he told his disciples, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).

Love is conscious only of what is right, good, just, and loving; and Love imparts these qualities to man. Divine Love is the substance of man's consciousness, the essence of his being. The one Mind, divine Love, knows each individual as the expression of its own goodness. Man, the likeness of God, is capable only of expressing the kindness, purity, and affection of divine Love. The good that man does originates in God and does not come from any personal, human characteristic. It is always God's goodness expressed. Since this goodness proceeds from God, it is eternal and is always a present reality.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

No score card of wrongs

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access