Victim? Or victor!

Recently, in church on a Wednesday evening, something said by a member of the congregation caused a huge shift in my thinking. The idea is simple. When confronted with a difficulty, rather than saying, “I am being challenged by this situation,” say, “I am challenging this false belief.”

The first phrase implies that I am a victim of some circumstance, at the mercy of matter and mortal thought—that I have to do battle against a real, powerful enemy. The second phrase recognizes that even if I’m faced with a difficult situation, I have everything I need to overcome it and be free. When I think out from this second phrase, I’m starting from a place of power.

Christian Science teaches that God is good and God is All. As Mary Baker Eddy says, “The great spiritual fact must be brought out that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 428). If we start with the perception that our problems, be they large or small, serious or unimportant, are “real” issues that have to be “dealt” with in some way, we make it unnecessarily hard for ourselves. Trying to change or fix or heal a reality would be a huge challenge indeed!

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