Editorial February 11, 2019 Issue

Spiritual identity, morality, and unconditional love

Barbara Vining

The changing views on sexual morality over the past several generations offer an opportunity for students of Christian Science to grow in their understanding of man’s (everyone’s) true identity as spiritual rather than physical—and to help the world find greater stability and health through their individual moral choices, unconditional love, and prayers. My own experience has taught me a few things about the value of this approach—especially the part about unconditional love.

I became a grandmother in the mid-1970s when my teenage daughter gave birth to a little girl. This was extremely challenging for me, for I valued the traditional standard of sex within marriage that is consistent with Christian Science, and I was deeply saddened by our daughter’s experience. At the same time, it was the teachings of Christian Science that enabled me to meet this challenge with love—a love that held our family together then, and that has strengthened our family’s cohesiveness more and more every year, which includes that wonderful granddaughter.

Morality involves much more than sexual relations, but because of the common assumption that our basic identity is physical, sexual conduct is often left out of discussions about morality today. But a physical sense of identity and its so-called needs and impulses plays a large part in the life of every human being, figuring into our underlying feelings and thoughts. And this affects the way we conduct ourselves—often leading to a selfishness that disregards the best interests of others, and of society at large.

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Bible Lens—February 11–17, 2019