RELATIONSHIP June 19, 2006 Issue

THE RIGHT ROAD TO HARMONY

EDMONDE ST. JOHN

MY HUSBAND AND I were returning from a visit to our daughter and her family. We had stopped to have lunch some distance off the main road, and then continued on our way. Suddenly we found ourselves in an unfamiliar part of the town. Frustrated, we began turning from one street to another, trying to get back to the main route.

Inwardly, I felt irritated and impatient with my husband for getting lost. I was about to blurt out some unkind remark, when my irritation settled into this firm, clear thought: It's more important to remain in a "healing consciousness"—a state of thought that's receptive to spiritual healing—than it is to be on the right road. Neither of us said a word, yet we soon felt calm and at peace with ourselves. Within minutes, a sign pointing to the main road came into view.

Since then, that message has lifted me out of many other temptations to be pressured or disturbed. I've realized that such suggestions come from what the Apostle Paul called "the carnal mind," which slips in sometimes and persuades us to break out into disagreeable words and actions. Paul said that this mind is "enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." He urged his followers to let the "Spirit of God" live with them and so drive out the carnal mind (Rom. 8:7, 9).

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