Trustworthy government—present now

The popular revolts sweeping North Africa and the Middle East have excited hopes that Arabs, long oppressed by autocratic rulers, will find new and lasting freedom. But as Egypt is beginning to discover, the path from spontaneous uprising to meaningful reform is one that requires patience and persistence. Already, economic hardship, coordinated violence, and unjust treatment and trial of detainees have clouded Egyptians’ jubilation at having ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.

In this period of tremendous change, unprecedented for at least half a century in that region, there is a great desire for better government—government that is just, trustworthy, and a guarantor of freedom. How is such government to be found and established, both in nations and individual lives? Sentinel founder Mary Baker Eddy pointed to the God that led the children of Israel out of Egypt, delivered Daniel in the lions’ den, and unloosed the bands of Paul and Silas in prison (see Ex., chaps. 3—12 ; Dan. 6:1–23 ; Acts 16:25–40 ).

“God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience,” she wrote in her seminal book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. “Man is properly self‐governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love” (p. 106 ).

This idea of divine government—holy, just, and eternal—reflected in individual self-government is one we can support in our prayer for the world. Not only the Middle East is wrestling with different visions of government. In Ivory Coast, where the incumbent president has failed to cede his post to the internationally recognized winner of last November’s election, armed supporters of each side have engaged in violent clashes, raising fears that the country could fall into anarchy. And in the United States, many of the heated political debates—from economic reform to health care—boil down to the role of government in individual lives.

By gaining a clearer understanding of true government, and demonstrating it in their lives, individuals can take a mental stand that will support the idea of God-governed progress from the deserts of Libya to the skyscrapers of Los Angeles. Just as Jesus healed numerous individuals whom he had never met, one’s application of the divine laws that he taught, and which Mrs. Eddy expounded, can bring healing around the globe.

For example, once a centurion—the title used for a commander of 100 men in the Roman Army—came to Jesus asking him to heal his servant of palsy. Jesus immediately agreed to come. But the centurion had such implicit faith in the authority of the Christ that he said that it would be unnecessary for Jesus to be personally present.“. . . but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed,” said the centurion. “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it” (see Matt. 8:5–13 ).

The Bible account goes on to say that the centurion’s servant was healed that same hour. Essentially, the centurion accepted God’s government through faith in the healing presence of the Christ.

Jesus assured generations to come that they, too, would be capable of bringing such comfort and healing. He said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12 ). This is possible by understanding the divine laws on which Jesus based his healing mission, such as the Ten Commandments (see Ex. 20:1–17 ).

Seen in one light, the Commandments can appear to be human rules that we are responsible for following. But they can also be seen as spiritual promises of self-government when we acknowledge God as the Principle of our nature, thought, and action.

These laws dawn as a powerful force in one’s everyday life. Even as the laws of aerodynamics are ever present—working not only for the engineer who knows them intimately but also for the passenger who enjoys the convenience of modern air travel—God’s laws are operating in every individual’s life and ensuring safety, justice, and progress.

I gained a new appreciation of this several years ago when an acquaintance’s apartment was ransacked by a thief.

She lived in Paris, and had been kind enough to allow me to stay at her place when I visited for a weekend, even though she would be away. She instructed me to leave the key locked in her mail slot, which I did. But she returned to find that her laptop, jewelry, and other valuables had been stolen.

This was distressing to me, and I mentioned it to a friend. She firmly declared something to the effect of, “The commandment ‘Thou shalt not steal’ isn’t just a nice suggestion about how to act. . . . It is a divine law, and it cannot be broken.”

Of course it appeared that that commandment had been broken. Someone had stolen very tangible and very important things from my acquaintance, and she was suffering as a result.

But Christian Science teaches that the material senses do not always report an accurate picture of any given situation, just as to the human eye it appears that the sun is going around the earth. It takes astronomy to explain that the sun remains at the center of a solar system in which the earth rotates around the sun.

The true sense of any situation is to be found in Science—Christian Science, which presents the supreme logic of divine laws that Christ Jesus demonstrated so convincingly and that are explained in Science and Health. Seen in this light, the commandment “Thou shalt not steal” is transformed from a human rule that can be broken to a divine promise upholding every individual’s integrity.

As God’s creation, every individual is made in His image and likeness, and thus must be forever honest, upright, loving, and complete. That’s a fact to rejoice in, whether thinking about oneself or others. It is also a law that each of us can prove in any situation.

Governed by this divine law, no individual could ever be misled into thinking that there was something to be gained from stealing, that it was necessary financially, or that through cunning means, such behavior would go undiscovered and unpunished and thus could be indulged.

Accepting these Biblical truths brought a greater sense of peace to my thought about the situation, and I also took practical steps to help ease my friend’s situation until she could replace everything.

By gaining a clearer understanding of true government, and demonstrating it in their lives, individuals can take a mental stand that will support the idea of God-governed progress from the deserts of Libya to the skyscrapers of Los Angeles.

The full resolution came several weeks later when I learned that through an unusual chain of circumstances, the thief had been apprehended. Another woman, elsewhere in Paris, had been walking into her apartment building when she saw a man come out with two suitcases identical to hers. When she got home, they realized they were hers—and that the man had filled them with her possessions.

She recalled seeing the man walking toward a taxi at the curb, and despite the fact that she lacked the taxi’s full details, the police were able to track down the man. He apparently had raided quite a number of apartments and still had many of the belongings in his home—some of which were restored to my friend.

The divine law “Thou shalt not steal” was demonstrated as inviolable in this situation. And because it is a divine law, it applies to every individual in every place. It is not limited to France or to robberies, and it is applicable to issues such as corruption—a key grievance of many of the Arab nations rising up against their leaders. 

This commandment can also be seen as promising the inalienable rights of individuals across the Middle East and North Africa, such as freedom, joy, and unfettered purpose. These qualities cannot be stolen by regimes, cultures, theologies, historical patterns, fear, pride, or apathy. Each commandment can be applied as a spiritual promise of divine law governing the lives of individuals in that region.

God’s government in individual lives has been proved throughout the Bible. Explained in Christian Science as the result of divine law, it is still demonstrable today. This law guarantees the freedom, justice, and God-governed progress that the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa are so earnestly pursuing and which they so fully deserve.