Article September 26, 2011 Issue

What’s happening in your neighborhood?

The news may be reporting thefts and violence in our cities and towns, but a spiritual approach takes a very different view.

By Patricia Sharp

Like so many others around the world I listened in horror to the news of rioting in England and watched in dismay as images of the events that endangered people, killing some and leaving many desperately fearful, were shown on TV and the Internet. I have learned in my study and practice of Christian Science that we can’t ignore these images. Prayer allows us to see the spiritual facts of any situation. As it does, it leads us to peace and supports healing for those in trouble.

As I began to pray, the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible was my authority and starting point for replacing these and similar events with spiritual facts. Toward the end of the chapter, it tells us that “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”(1:31).

The key point here is that God is doing the creating and the seeing. Through His eyes all is good. As we are part of this spiritual creation we all actually have the ability to see and experience this good as well. When people view situations from a material perspective they lose this sense of goodness and accept evil as a fact. Spiritual good, however, is a totally reliable reality in all situations because it doesn’t allow for any opposite. Through spiritual discernment, it’s possible for us to see this goodness in our own lives, too.