"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
The air was filled with anger and crying. It seemed that whenever one family member said something, it was misunderstood and met with a harsh reply. I knew that this could not continue. At the same time, I realised that this anger and highly-charged emotion was coming up in what felt like most other aspects of my life. I knew that I needed to start seriously praying about it.
The first thought that came to mind was the line from one of Mary Baker Eddy’s poems: “Feed my sheep”, (hymn 304). “Thou wilt bind the stubborn will . . .” I realised that I felt I was right in those exchanges and had been rather stubborn about it all. Still, it seemed to me that others had been equally stubborn. However, I continued pondering and praying for understanding. I then realised that acting self-righteously was not living in accord with the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ and I asked God for guidance to know how I could truly love my family members and my neighbour as myself. As I continued praying, the phrase: “It, (animal magnetism), starts factions and engenders envy and hatred . . . ” came to thought. I recognised this as a phrase from Mrs Eddy’s “Ways that are Vain” from Miscellany. (Page 213:5 – 8). AHA! That was exactly what was happening. To counter this, I knew that our family had a right to the opposite: unity and harmony. And so did I, in all areas of my life.
After pondering this precious thought, it became obvious to me that I was allowing myself to be drawn into a game. So! It wasn’t even personal! I firmly resolved, right then and there, that I was not going to play this game anymore. Instead, I decided I would focus on demonstrating and expressing the “natural fruits”, (Miscellany 213:1 – 3) of Christian Science Mind-Healing, which Mrs Eddy states are: “. . . harmony, brotherly love, spiritual growth and activity.” So. I put these truths into practice with my family. The change was remarkable. It was as if a light switch had been turned on. Anger and emotion were replaced by laughter and supportive conversation. Emotion and anger in the other areas of my life rapidly dissolved too, and many blessings became readily visible.
While it was challenging at the time, I am so grateful for this wonderful reminder of the impersonal nature and nothingness of error, of how vainly it presents itself. Thank you,Christian Science!