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Finding freedom from character flaws
If you’ve ever struggled with a bad character trait, you know that it can be a beast. Shakespeare called jealousy, for example, a green-eyed monster, and I was its unhappy prisoner until Christian Science released me.
It can take work to stop believing that a character flaw is baked into who we are. Greed, envy, hatred, and pride are so prevalent in people and nations that we call them human nature. But is evil really our nature? What about the generosity of neighbor helping neighbor, the sacrifices people make for a cause, the decisions that guide individuals or nations to do the right thing? Actions such as these point to an underlying motivating goodness. As explained in Christian Science, this powerful good is God, the Soul of all that really exists.
We may be ready to admit that God is good, but what about us? We’re not God. No, but God’s goodness must be expressed. That expression is man. Man is the overarching term in Christian Science for the true, spiritual identity of every man, woman, and child. We might be accustomed to thinking that man is a mortal who is both good and bad, but understood rightly, spiritual man is actually the full expression of God, Spirit. This is true no matter how often a mortal sense of ourselves and others tries to make us lose sight of it.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
October 11, 2021 issue
View IssueEditorial
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Finding freedom from character flaws
Susan Stark
Keeping Watch
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Expect God’s goodness . . . immediately!
Carol Coykendall Raner
Image and Inspiration
- Image and Inspiration
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Who are our friends?
James Rosebush
TURNING POINTS IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH
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My experience with the Holy Spirit
Barrie Blankenship Paulson
Teens
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How can I stop feeling like a nobody?
Jan Keeler Vincent
Healings
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Back trouble quickly healed
Martin Vesely
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Concerns resolved through putting God first
Name Withheld
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Handyman’s complete recovery after fall
John Van Patten
BIBLE LENS
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Doctrine of Atonement
October 11–17, 2021
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Letters & Conversations
Liz Pyatt