IN AN ADDRESS to a Christian Science branch church almost exactly 110 years ago to this day, Sentinel founder Mary Baker Eddy offered a gently reassuring statement—one that still resonates with hope for people across the globe: "Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149–150).

That message comes to mind as many of us pray about a relatively new threat to world peace. It surfaced in the Gulf of Aden when in one two-week period in November, Somali pirates armed with grenade launchers and grappling hooks seized eight tankers, including a 1,100-foot-long Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil. Those assaults increased the threat against merchant shipping to levels not seen since World War II, and followed a rise in piracy off the coasts of West Africa, too, especially near the oil-producing Niger Delta.

Piracy has become a highly profitable, sophisticated criminal enterprise hauling in millions of dollars in ransom payments, which have led to higher insurance premiums for a rattled shipping industry, frustrating delays for customers, and yet another variable to work into already volatile oil-market prices.

What then are the "tender lessons" mentioned above, which await us wherever we might sail, fly, or go about our daily activities? How can we defend ourselves against lawless predators, including ivory poachers and those who denude the flora of tropical countries to make drugs? And how should we pray for the perpetrators of such acts?

That address by Mrs. Eddy offers a good starting point. She asked that congregation to always bear in mind that "Christianity is not alone a gift ... it is a growth Christward; it is not a creed or dogma ... [it] is the summons of divine Love for man to be Christlike—to emulate the words and the works of our great Master" (Miscellany, p. 148).

Jesus himself made many appeals to his followers to learn from him, grow spiritually, and trust God implicitly. He refused to be held hostage by hatred, abuses of power, even threats to his life. He called on everyone to love his or her enemies. No wonder Mrs. Eddy, who devoted her life to understanding the healing Science behind Jesus' life and teachings, chose to pray each day: "God bless my enemies; make them Thy friends; give them to know the joy and the peace of love" (Miscellany, p. 220).

Jesus spoke constantly of the abundance and availability of God's blessings, which, when fully appreciated in the world today, have the power to eliminate acts of piracy in the first place. For Christian Scientists, this means approaching the human condition with the knowledge that there is a God who is divine Mind, infinite and loving, who intends His children to live in unity and harmony, not discord.

As one reasons further, it becomes clear that the one God, Principle, supplies only that which is good. He is the Lawgiver. His is the only law to be obeyed. And obedience consistently leads to victory over unprincipled invaders. These invaders include fear, poverty, disease, and limitations of all kinds.

Further, one discerns that everyone has an unbreakable connection with the healing Christ, or divine message, and the capability to hear and respond to its direction. Praying earnestly and frequently helps cultivate a listening attitude that unerringly guides and protects us, bringing to light each individual's immunity from danger or ill-health.

Unless we are spiritually equipped and alert, we may be taken hostage for a while by feelings of desperation and helplessness—not just on the high seas but in the most ordinary aspects of daily living. We might find ourselves paying the ransom of our peace and well-being to what St. Paul called "the carnal mind"—the fallacy of many limited minds opposed to the Mind that is God.

In such circumstances, it is possible to realize that the divine Mind never negotiates or compromises with the carnal mind, which is inherently powerless, but rises strongly to overthrow it with the might of the divine Love, of which Mrs. Eddy spoke. We can refuse to let the wrongful acts of others capture and govern our thoughts and attitudes; refuse to be victimized by terrorism or other forms of random violence; refuse to turn anywhere but to thoughts from the one and only God of good, for release from bondage to material limitations of all kinds, and the spiritual guidance that transforms lives. css