Testimony of Healing May 12, 2014 Issue

Silencing criticism ends back pain

Cynthia Poe

I work a seasonal job that takes me outdoors and requires a lot of driving. One winter I was troubled with back pains so severe that I was afraid I might have to resign from my position in the spring. Although I have turned to Christian Science for healing on many occasions, this time I consulted a chiropractor for a diagnosis. I am not a lifelong Christian Scientist, and during previous athletic pursuits, I counted on chiropractic treatments for instant results. This time, I gained some temporary relief but did not experience a true healing. Especially troubling was the doctor’s belief, after he had seen X-rays of my back, that I was doomed to a lifetime of back problems. I felt he didn’t accept the idea that complete healing was possible.

I knew that dedicated prayer would have benefits far beyond the scope of my perceived problem, so I stopped seeing the chiropractor. I settled in at home with Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, spiral-bound anthologies of articles from the Christian Science periodicals, and a prayer journal. During my first days of study, some thoughts surfaced that convinced me I needed to work on silencing my mental criticism of others. In work matters, as well as on social occasions, I often found myself zeroing in on flaws and shortcomings. People weren’t doing their jobs properly, inefficient methods had been used to promote an idea, rude people made public encounters unpleasant, and so forth. My list of inner complaints could go on forever! One thing that made it difficult to recognize this as a bad habit was that throughout my career I had been offered promotions and extra responsibility at work because I was good at uncovering flawed systems and suggesting improvements. But I needed to see the difference between constructive critical thinking and destructive fault-finding.

While reading the Bible one day, I came across James 5:9 in the King James Version, “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.” When delving into ideas from the Bible, I like to use a website that provides the original Greek or Aramaic, word by word. Much insight can be gained by comparing repeated uses of the same Greek phrase throughout all the books of the New Testament. And so I discovered that the verse can be read as: “Grumble not, brothers, against one another, that you might not be condemned. Behold, the judge before the doors is standing.” The difference in the two versions may seem inconsequential, but I noticed that the Greek word for judge is kritēs, which gave the English language a root for the words critic and criticize.