Your part in good government

Do you yearn for better government? Do you feel your national or local authorities are too liberal, too conservative, too indecisive, or too insensitive? Do you feel that elected officials are essentially unethical and dishonest?

The two statements from Mary Baker Eddy that are highlighted with this article show how we can improve the government under which we live. They do not call for a particular agenda—liberal, conservative, or middle-of-the-road. They do not require support of a particular political party or candidate. What they do call for is support of righteous government, one that is moral and upright. But can we have righteous government if those elected are not moral and righteous people?

Righteousness is from God, and even the most evil-appearing men and women are included in God's redeeming and forgiving love. Christ Jesus said that God "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45 ). Thus, everyone is touched and blessed by God's goodness and purity. No one is left out.

Here we have a hint as to just what the real nature of man is. Goodness and purity are natural to God's man. Man is not made of any material elements, which we see with our eyes or hear with our ears. Only by replacing the report of the corporeal senses with what we discern spiritually can we understand that man inherently expresses integrity. The man made in God's likeness cannot be any less than upright and pure.

Understanding truths like these is helpful to anyone whom our thoughts rest upon. If we want to be followers of Christ Jesus, we need to be forgiving and to love our fellowman as Jesus loved us. It was the pure, unconditional, and uplifting love of the Christ that caused Zacchaeus, a tax collector, to give half of his goods to the poor, and to repay fourfold anyone from whom he had taken anything by "false accusation" (see Luke 19:1–10 ).

Time and again, Jesus saved sinners, and he taught that we should have the same perfect, all-embracing love for our fellowman as he had for us. He said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34, 35 ).

If we wish to improve the government under which we live, shouldn't we include those in authority in our love? We need not love dishonest or immoral acts any more than Jesus did. But we can and must understand that man is the child of God, and that man's true nature is innocent and free from all wrong.

As we understand the perfection of the man of God's making, our love for those in government will naturally be unconditional. Such a love gives us a true and steady compass for thought and action. It shields us from the daily ebb and flow of human opinion. As our love approximates the all-embracing love of the Christ, we will be supporting, in a powerful way, the establishment of fair, compassionate, and honest government.

It is an axiom of divine Science that unjust, immoral, and self-serving actions cannot stand. God's reign is supreme, and whatever opposes it must fall. Jesus understood this. Though he respected the authority of the occupying government of Rome and taught obedience to its laws, he knew that the Supreme Ruler of man is God, the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Divine Being. By bringing our every thought and action into obedience to His law of love, we will find His law reflected in the government under which we live.

"Unconstitutional and unjust coercive legislation and laws, infringing individual rights, must be 'of few days, and full of trouble,'" writes Mary Baker Eddy. "The vox populi, through the providence of God, promotes and impels all true reform; and, at the best time, will redress wrongs and rectify injustice" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 80 ). We are part of that popular sentiment. It is important that we keep our contribution to this "voice" in harmony with God's law of love—in line with God's commands. Doing so will hasten the day of the "true reform" to which Mrs. Eddy refers.

We may not see immediate changes, but we can be like the woman in Luke's Gospel who kept coming to the unjust judge to have an injustice corrected (see Luke 18:1–8). She didn't give up, and because of "her continual coming," the unjust judge finally gave her justice. Like this woman, we can be sure that as we persist in our prayers to see all, including men and women in government, as children of God, governed by righteousness, we will see God's reign prevailing, and the influence of selfish interest fading until they disappear.