Paul gives us good advice: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." ^{Phil. 4:8.} Yet how many of us follow it? Aren't we more inclined to ruminate over injustices and things that make us angry? Don't we tend to put our energies into rethinking and reliving the unpleasant and unkind things that happen to us during the day?

An interesting thing often happens during all this rethinking. However angry we might have been when the incident occurred, there's a tendency to become even angrier each time we think about it. Resentment and malice begin to grow as we carefully mull over every terrible detail of the experience, and we are actually cultivating evil in our own consciousness. Ultimately we run the danger of becoming consumed by it. Mrs. Eddy writes, "You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second." ^{Science and Health, p. 234.}

Consider again Paul's words "Whatsoever things are of good report; ... think on these things." When we're controlling our thought in this way, we're not just looking on the bright side of a bad situation. Neither are we ignoring a problem. We are refusing to allow destructive (and more than likely self-destructive) thinking to take control of our life. Getting these unproductive, harmful thoughts under control and out of consciousness enables one to think and pray clearly. The ability to act with assurance and without malice follows.

I found myself in a terrible situation at work. The manager in charge of the division I worked in was very unethical in her business dealings. Making my situation worse was the fact that she seemed to have a particular dislike for me. Her manner toward me was caustic and insulting; her attitude was so blatant that co-workers noticed.

The morale in the whole division was very low, and I was miserable. I wanted very much to follow Christ Jesus' admonition to love my neighbor, but how could I? In the midst of such unfair treatment it isn't easy to love. And it is impossible to love while one's thought is obsessed with the apparent injustice.

The action that corrects a problem of this sort, however, is not humanly changing another person or getting revenge. The need is to deprive malicious or self-pitying thoughts of a place in our thinking and to replace them with "whatsoever things" are pure, just, and honest. This process is one of prayer—eliminating evil from consciousness and refusing to give it control of our thinking.

Evil is not a person. It is not intelligent. This nonintelligence has credibility only if we personalize it or credit it with being a part of another individual's character. Mrs. Eddy assures us in Science and Health: "God is not the creator of an evil mind. Indeed, evil is not Mind. We must learn that evil is the awful deception and unreality of existence. Evil is not supreme; good is not helpless; nor are the so-called laws of matter primary, and the law of Spirit secondary." ^{Ibid., p. 207.}

In Genesis, evil is portrayed as a talking serpent that persuaded Eve (and, through Eve, Adam) to eat the fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," which God had told them not to eat. When God confronted Adam with his sin of eating the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed Eve for suggesting it. But blame really belonged to the serpent, evil. Though it appeared to Adam that Eve was the cause of his problem, Eve had been manipulated by the serpent's lies into thinking that it would be a good thing to eat the forbidden fruit.

If we eat the forbidden fruit—getting hurt or resentful—and then blame an individual for our hurt, we are as mistaken as Adam. Only evil perpetrates unkindness or injustice. We are hurt by it only if we fail to realize that evil, the serpent, is a liar.

When we're tempted to relive a confrontation, we can instead seek out specific reasons for praising God. We can use anything "whatsoever"—any spiritually based reasoning—to stifle the urge to think resentfully. Evil is not a part of anyone. And because evil is not a self-constituted intelligence, it is not capable of using one person to hurt another. Science and Health tells us what evil is: "Evil is nothing, no thing, mind, nor power." ^{Ibid., p. 330.}

As I became more diligent in praying and in controlling my thinking, praise for God replaced resentment. I began to realize that God knows His children as honest, kind, clear-thinking, and harmonious. I stopped wasting time with morbid daydreams and truly began to discover God's viewpoint. I stuck to Paul's advice: "If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

One day while I was praying, I began to get the feeling that this job was no longer the right place for me. I actually got a clear sense that I should quit, something that had never entered my mind before. At first I disregarded the idea as impossible. I felt it would be running away from the problem. I had to stay and heal the unpleasant situation! Also, since I was earning half of our household income, quitting seemed out of the question. However, the feeling persisted until I began to realize that I could leave the job and trust God.

Trust is knowing that God's plan is in effect, even if we cannot see the means for accomplishing something. I wasn't sure how we would pay our bills if I quit. On the other hand, I was sure God's benevolent control would cause everything to fall into place properly if I were obedient to His commands. The following Monday I gave my notice.

Two weeks after I had left, an announcement was made that the parent company was dissolving the company I had worked for. As a result, many ultimately left their jobs.

Then, not long after this—and very unexpectedly—my husband received a promotion and his salary doubled. But I still had a nagging sense that I had run away. Renewed study of our Master's life gently guided me out of that concern. I could see that Jesus' healing work was for those receptive to the Truth, for the "poor in spirit." He didn't eliminate all problems from the world. He did, however, overcome the world.

Healing the company of the problems I had seen was not my responsibility alone. But healing myself of resentment, self-righteousness, and self-justification was. By humbly asking God for guidance on this problem, instead of broadcasting to anyone who would listen the unjust treatment I was receiving, I was well on the way to having these byproducts of self-will under control. And by obeying the message to quit I was lifted out of a troubling situation and sheltered from an even more troubling one.

I learned much later that the manager I had worked for had ultimately been fired. It was interesting to me that I felt no satisfaction in that news, just a quiet hope that she would find a position that would allow her talents to be productive. What a relief it was that my thoughts about her could be benevolent instead of resentful.

When we realize that evil is a lie, it becomes possible to control evil thinking. Mrs. Eddy notes, "A lie has only one chance of successful deception,—to be accounted true." ^{Unity of Good, p. 17.} Evil is a lie because it has no existence in God, Truth. Sometimes the lie is extremely convincing. It may masquerade as a part of another's personality or as our own thinking. But a lie can't hurt us if we don't believe it. We control evil by disbelieving it and understanding its fundamental unreality.

Paul's words are far more than good advice; they are preserving and life-giving. It is very important to our well-being that we not allow evil to dominate our thinking. When we are free from malice, resentment, hatred, and self-pity, we can act constructively. We are no longer handled by evil but governed by God, confident and calm in His safe control. We are blessed beyond measure when we consciously choose to think—and act—on "whatsoever things are true."