Overcoming differences

There appears to be a great deal of division of thought in the world today. Good, thinking people firmly take sides on issues, frequently in direct opposition to other good, thinking people. We see “lines in the sand” being drawn. Differences in conservative and liberal points of view, though centuries old, are more strongly defended than before. Many people are preoccupied with factions and extremes. Criticizing the “other side” fuels opposition. Often spiritually minded individuals seek answers through their religious faith. But sometimes even faith can be used to justify division.

What I have learned through my study of Christian Science is the importance of moving even beyond faith, to understanding. In most sciences, understanding is gained through proof, often through experimentation. In that step, individuals apply what they believe to be true to a trial experience. If the trial is successful, it leads to understanding.

But how do we advance to spiritual understanding? When our faith is challenged by human circumstances, it is through prayerful alignment of our thought with God that we gain new insights into spiritual reality. These moments of inspiration give us glimpses of the harmonious relationship between God and His perfect spiritual idea, man. Such glimpses help us see through the challenges we face, and lead to their resolution.

Christian Science is rooted in the understanding that God is good, and good alone. God is incapable of creating evil. What appears to be evil is actually false belief, something that has no reality—such as darkness. Darkness is simply the absence of light. In photography, a light meter is used to determine the amount of light in a scene in order to achieve a good exposure. If there is a lot of light, the meter reading goes up. If there is little light, the meter reading goes down. And if the meter is placed in total darkness, it reads nothing at all. Have you ever heard of a “dark meter”? There is no such thing, because darkness can’t be measured. You can only measure light, not the absence of light.

Christian Science is rooted in the understanding that God is good, and good alone.

When one gains a full understanding of spiritual truths by proving them, this brings light to any situation, eliminating the darkness of misunderstanding and divisiveness.

In this light we see that men, women, and children are expressions of God and subject to God alone. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy puts it this way: “Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss” (p. 481 ). As a result, we all manifest only the infinite goodness and love that flow from the same, single source.

One of my favorite Bible passages is Psalms 46:10 , “Be still, and know that I am God.” There’s so much in that statement that I’ve pondered it daily for years. As I see it, the passage calls on us to quiet down our sense of self and yield completely to God. Once we do that, this question follows: “What next? Do we just sit still?” Not at all. We feel closer than ever to God, and are able to act out of a stillness that is in complete accord with what God is telling us.

In other words, we humbly surrender any personal sense of self, understanding that our very consciousness is the manifestation of God as divine Mind. And in that instant of surrender, we experience a heightened awareness of our oneness with God, of our true identity. We surrender our personal agenda, including every hint of willfulness and aggressiveness. And we see that we are all children of the same Father-Mother, our shared source of intelligence and inspiration.

Recently, when restudying an article titled “Identity” by L. Ivimy Gwalter in The Christian Science Journal of June 1942, I was struck by a new view of the third commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7 ).

Before reading Gwalter’s article, I’d always interpreted that commandment as saying that we shouldn’t use God’s name inappropriately in our daily conversation, as in swearing. But I now see that there is much more to it. The article points out that “God’s revelation of Himself to Moses as ‘I AM’ establishes, for all time, true identity.” And the third commandment “disposes of mistaken or false identity, and forbids the association of ‘I am’ with anything unlike God. Nothing which does not express God, Spirit, has or is identity.”

When we gain a greater understanding of our identity in God, the one true Father-Mother of all of us, and demonstrate this in our lives, we find we have more in common with others than we may have realized. Then, spiritually discerned and understood, our differences will not result in friction, but prove more complementary and harmonious. And we’ll also find a growing, deep, and respectful love for people everywhere.