The rich in spirit help the poor
in one grand brotherhood,
all having the same Principle, or Father;
and blessed is that man who seeth
his brother's need and supplieth it,
seeking his own in another's good.

—Mary Baker Eddy
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 518

Today, self-improvement tops many people's list of priorities. People read books and take motivational courses on self-realization, self-fulfillment, self-awareness, and self-assertion. But when they focus on important qualities such as these in an unbalanced way, and without consideration for another person's progress and well-being, this can lead to self-centeredness, self-seeking, and self-pity. This, in turn, can produce self-destructiveness.

Centering on one's own personal interests is limited and tends toward inflexibility, a narrow perspective, an inability to see the big picture. On the other hand, a broad and objective mental outlook instinctively includes the interests of everyone.

Through the study of Christian Science, I've found that interdependence and cooperation are the norm, when life is understood as spiritual—as the reflection of the creative Mind or God, who also is our one great and whole Life. Any thoughts that aren't consonant with the underlying oneness of spiritual being deviate from the true nature of Life. Consequently, caring about another's inner peace and harmony—and not disrupting that individual's peace by harsh words or careless acts—is just as important as my own self-realization and self-fulfillment.

I've come to believe that we experience true fulfillment when we understand we don't exist only for ourselves, since we are part of a wider community, as the very expression of an all-embracing divine Mind. When we retreat into a shell and ignore this interdependence, our spiritual progress slows. We've rendered ourselves much less able to experience the unlimited possibilities of infinite Mind.

There's a well-traveled story about two men sharing a lifeboat. One of them starts making a hole in the bottom of the boat. The other asks, "What are you doing? If you make a hole there, water will flood into the boat, it will sink, and we'll drown!" The other man says, "Don't worry, the hole is only on my side."

Self-seeking and self-centeredness are self-defeating because they cause the imbalance that leads to rivalry, hate, fear, insecurity, greediness, and loneliness. Such states of thought result in some of the planet's worst troubles—destructive exploitation of people and nature, pollution, and wars. A highly regarded physicist, David Bohm, writes: "The widespread and pervasive distinctions between people (race, nation, family, profession, etc.) which are now preventing mankind from working together for the common good, and indeed, even for survival, have one of the Key factors of their origin in a kind of thought that treats things as inherently divided, disconnected, and 'broken up' into yet smaller constituent parts. Each part is considered to be essentially independent and self-existent" (Wholeness and the Implicate Order, London, Ark Paperbacks, 1980, p. xi).

What can we do to dissolve those elements of thought that separate people from one another and prevent individuals and nations from seeking good for all? Prayer may be humanity's greatest unifying force. In praying we can acknowledge that God is complete and bestows worth inclusively. Within this truth, there's no reason for destructive self-assertion, since in Him there's no reason for competition or rivalry. We all share the one omnipresent Spirit as our source of intelligence. Also, there's never a need for disparaging comparisons with others, since every expression of the divine Life is valued, even esteemed.

Each of us enjoys a distinct place and purpose in God's universe, and in truth, we cannot withdraw from being part of the one infinite whole. Intelligence and every other good quality we express belong to God. He is their only originator and owner. Oneness is a central fact of existence. All men, women, and children—all life—express this one infinite Being, which is always complete and satisfied with its creation.

EXEMPLARY CARE-GIVING

Two thousand years ago, Christ Jesus saw the unity of all life in God. As a result, he was "moved with compassion" for the sick and hungry, moved with deep concern for the well-being of everyone he encountered. Jesus pointed to the necessity of realizing Life's oneness—and the need to concern ourselves with others' well-being—when he gave the guidance to love your neighbor as you love yourself (see Matt. 19:19). He also proved that a conscious understanding of this unity with God, and a loving concern for all, heals and restores wholeness in every aspect of human life.

Over a century ago, Mary Baker Eddy rediscovered the truth of God's inseparability and unconditional loving concern for all that Jesus taught and lived. She discerned the spiritual laws that enabled Jesus to heal. "Universal love," she concluded, "is the divine way in Christian Science." She also noted, "Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power," and "... blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 266, 192, 518).

To me, that term "unselfed love" doesn't mean to extinguish my own individuality for the sake of others. Rather, it means doing good in ways that are free from self-centered motives that benefit only me. For example, if I'm kind to a person because I fear that he or she would not otherwise accept me, or might act contrary to my interests, then my motives aren't unselfed. Or, if a nation supports an underdeveloped country only to gain access to its natural resources—and not out of a desire to create a better life for all of that country's people—the supporting nation isn't acting in an unselfed way. Such motives aren't ultimately likely to bring the desired results, because they aren't in agreement with the divine Principle of Life.

What if someone feels he or she simply cannot love a neighbor? Then praying to express this basic, universal, Christian oneness with God and His goodness can empower that individual to be good for the sake of goodness—to love for the sake of Love itself.

COURAGE TO CARE IMPARTIALLY

One of my relatives held a leading position in a company for more than 20 years. Then, his company suddenly decided to let him go because of the general economic situation in Europe at that time.

His wife headed her own company, and one of her employees held the same position there that her husband had at his company. Friends and acquaintances tried to persuade her to dismiss this employee and give the position to her husband instead. But she had set up her firm out of loving concern for others. Her aim had been to create work—opportunities for people who needed them. She had quite a number of employees and was happy they had work. And as a Christian Scientist, she felt that it would not be consistent with divine Love's nature to dismiss one employee for the sake of another. She said to herself, "As God sees it, no man needs to rob another of his place."

This woman realized that the Bible's eighth commandment, "Thou shall not steal" (Ex. 20:15), applies to work, family matters, friendships, and to all other relationships. God gave humanity the command because we need not steal. We need not rob our neighbor of anything he or she needs. Each of us is directly linked to the divine Source, and it's from this fount that we find our rightful place, activity, purpose, and meaning in life. Her husband felt the same way.

Weeks went by, and the date came for my relative to leave his job, but there was no offer of a new position. The stress this couple felt from all sides became unbearable. But because they wanted to seek another's good first, they stood their ground and prayed to see a solution that would represent this good for all. Then, out of the blue, they got a call from an acquaintance who owned another company. Because of recent changes there, he now urgently needed an employee with the very qualifications her husband had. The day after he left his old job, he started work for this new employer. He didn't suffer a single day of unemployment, and ended up with better working conditions than before.

SELFLESS GIVING BRINGS HEALING

We can feel the same protecting power that my relatives experienced through unselfed love, as our prayers turn from focusing just on our own challenges to including the whole world. This applies to all human needs, including the need for physical wellness. For instance, my mother once hurt one of her legs when she fell while crossing a street. It appeared that a bone was displaced or broken in her foot. She was in great pain and couldn't stand on that foot.

Because she had difficulty even lifting her foot to get into bed, she told me she prayed with her understanding of the principles of Christian Science, affirming the inseparability of God and man, the divine Mind and its idea. My mother realized that this relationship is based on God's unchanging goodness, and that therefore it can never be broken or changed. She fell asleep, but soon awoke because of intense pain.

At that point, she thought, "I will not let myself be fooled into thinking that I have to pray for the healing of a personal injury! Instead, I will turn my thought in love to the whole world and pray for it." She told me she pondered seven Biblebased synonyms for God found in Science and Health—Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, Love, and Principle. As she did this, she realized that God's spiritual creation expresses His infinite goodness. In God's being, she thought, there is only unity, no imbalance, no lack of love. Therefore, in the true Life, there are no destructive forces—no earthquakes, floods, famine, pollution, crime, terror. No racial hate, no strife among religions, nor any political struggles could ever disturb the wholeness of God's creation. She concluded that God's infinitude must cause balance and peace for all life.

As my mother prayed in this way, she heard two loud cracks in her foot. The pain disappeared, and she could rise from her bed, stand, and walk freely again. Everything felt perfectly normal. Because my family and I lived close by, we saw firsthand the immediate and permanent effect of her outward caring prayer.

THE TIMELESS MODEL

Unselfish motives gave Jesus the inner strength and healing power he was able to express. Jesus loved helping others, and loved good in and of itself. He also loved Life's oneness, and exploring and teaching the truth about God and man as inseparable. Mary Baker Eddy followed Jesus' example and taught how anyone can do the same.

Aiding others, praying for the world around us, inevitably frees the giver from destructive self-entanglements. And healing, inner peace, true fulfillment come naturally, as we embrace all life in the warm, universal love that God gives us to share. |CSS