Article December 15, 1997 Issue

How clean are your feet?

Jonathan Heim

Seeing someone again after a number of years triggered angry memories of the way that person had mistreated me. Even though much time had passed, the old feelings came pouring back, as fresh as if the incident had occurred just yesterday. I was surprised how easy it had been to hold a grudge all these years without realizing it.

This brought home the wisdom of guarding one's thinking. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, learned from her study of Christ Jesus' life and works the importance of vigilantly watching the quality of our thoughts—and thereby gaining control over the nature of our experience.

So, what would be a good test to see if we have been consciously or unconsciously harboring ill will toward another? Not surprisingly, Jesus provides a good example. Remember how he gave his disciples a lesson on humility by washing their feet? After doing so, he explained, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14).

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