"There is a right way"

[Of Special Interest to Young People]

When I was serving in the Armed Forces during World War II, we had an instructor who always prefaced a demonstration with this remark: "Now, there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything." He then proceeded to demonstrate the right way to do the work in hand.

When confronted with problems, I have often remembered his words and have sought to do things the right way at once. Christian Science teaches that the right way is the Christlike way; it is the way of spiritually understanding God's control of events and not that of resorting to mere human will or human expediency.

The Psalmist pictures God as saying (Ps. 46:10), "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." So we can be still and acknowledge the reign of God, divine Mind, over heathen thoughts of fear, doubt, self-seeking, and every false god that would claim to rule.

Does divine Mind know of our human problems and of the decisions we often have to make? No. But it is conscious of reality, harmony, perfection. As human will and cleverness and fear bow before the divine Mind, harmony appears in our present experience. This is the christlike way.

Christ Jesus instructed his followers to pray (Matt. 6:10), "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy interprets this (p. 17): "Enable us to know,— as in heaven, so on earth.—God is omnipotent, supreme." And part of her definition of "will" reads (ibid., p. 597): "The motive-power of error; mortal belief; animal power. The might and wisdom of God." So we can see that in everything we do the false sense of human will must be exchanged for "the might and wisdom of God."

Jesus, who lived the Christ so consistently that he was called Christ Jesus, did everything the right way, whether it was healing the sick, reclaiming the sinner, raising the dead, or meeting the world's hatred of divine Truth and Love and pressing on to a full realization of man's unity with the Father.

Peter chose the world's way of retaliating against evil with the unintelligent power of sheer human will when he struck off the ear of the high priest's servant in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus did not hesitate to choose the Christlike way, restoring the servant's ear through realizing that the divine will, "the might and wisdom of God," controlled the situation.

Jesus' retaliation against evil took the form of submitting his body to the will of his enemies to be crucified that through the will of God he might achieve a complete victory over matter, hatred, and death. This final victory was the culmination of consistently and persistently pursuing the right way that of loving God supremely and being obedient to the divine control.

In school, college, and business life, matters of right relationship are of great importance. Sometimes, when things do not go right in this respect, the frankness of youth urges one to "have it out." This human effort often brings an error from under cover, but does not necessarily heal it. Sometimes it magnifies error, making it seem more real.

On the other hand, we learn in Christian Science that it is not wise to ignore problems of human relationship. "There is a right way" of tackling them—the Christlike way. It is the way of prayer, through which human will, or "the motive-power of error," gives way to "the might and wisdom of God."

When I first went to the university, I rapidly made many friends among a group which I found very intriguing. Although stimulated, I was not really happy, and soon I found out that the friends came from a background of thinking at variance with my own .

Upon making this discovery. I wanted to recoil at once from the individuals. I soon realized, however, that my dislike was not of them but of the system they represented. Endeavoring to meet the situation in the right way, I continued in friendship with them; but silently and persistently I kept my thinking independent of theirs and then left the matter to "the might and wisdom of God." A natural, mutual, and gradual drifting apart took place, and other friendships, more beneficial to all, were formed.

It was obvious to me that it was right not to continue with the first friendships. But to be wholly right the separation had to be taken in the right way, which was the loving, Christlike way of saying, "Thy will be done," and knowing that "the might and wisdom of God" are equal to every occasion.

Problems of position also must be solved the right way. We can replace the thrust of human will, operating as ambition, knowing the right people, or a desire to get, by a willingness to give and an ability to wait for that to appear which God has already prepared.

We know when we have chosen the right way by the peace which comes into our hearts; by the spiritual expectancy which refreshes us; by the invulnerability of true humility which armors us. Working out our problems the Christ-like way, we are entitled to say, as our Master did (John 5:17): "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."

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CHURCH SERVICE
June 25, 1960
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