Settling for Stale Bread?
	Notes and references for 6/24/01 Settling for stale bread? How do you use Christian Science? Is it a mental self-help discipline to use in a human situation? If so then don’t expect healing. It won’t work. Christian Science is not a mind over matter process. It is not a self-disciple to change some human event. It is a revelation. It is only by your personal discovery of this revelation that healing can take place. You must humbly, and with the innocence of a child, strive with great curiosity and desire the absolute Truth the revelation contains. God revealed this Science to our Leader and she has stated it fully in our textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Let this revelation touch your heart. Instead of trying to bring God to your problem bring your heart to God. Instead of one human mind trying to change another human mind let Divine Mind change you. You do this by study. You do it by holding to the absolute truths found in the lesson each week. One of you asked what to do about a friend that had an annoying personality. This person was “needy” and overly dependent. It may not make sense but my response was to point out to the student that it needed to be handled in her own thought. If we entertain a lie about God’s child then we are contributing as a witness to a lie and thus impress upon human thought that the problem is real. By holding to the individual’s perfection we bring forth the truth about that individual. Loving someone means seeing him or her as God knows them, not as the world knows them. Ask God to heal something that He knows nothing about is absurd. But knowing what God knows and holding to that fact in the presence of the individual will touch them in a way that may be unfamiliar to them. You bring out the best instead of the worst. Bringing out the worst in someone is illustrated in a cute, although over-simplified, example in out textbook: 220:18 Mortal mind produces its own phenomena, and then charges them to something else, — like a kitten glancing into the mirror at itself and thinking it sees another kitten. Imaging that kitten in front of the mirror frighten by the monster it sees and running away from the monster who chases him wherever he goes. That is exactly what we see in others—our erroneous thinking about them. Reverse it! Mrs. Eddy gives even more profound advice in the following citation: Mis 308:29 A material human likeness is the antipode of man in the image and likeness of God. Hence, a finite person is not the model for a metaphysician I earnestly advise all Christian Scientists to remove from their observation or study the personal sense of any one, and not to dwell in thought upon their own or others' corporeality, either as good or evil. One other very important point. When you ask God to solve some human problem of yours you are limiting what God can do. You are settling for less then God has in store for you. You are like the beggar that goes to the door of a stranger and asks for stale bread. The woman at the door responds, “I’m sorry, all of my bread is fresh, you will have to come back tomorrow if you want it stale.” Another student asked if God could fix his broken car. My response was the same. Wouldn’t he be surprised if God had a whole new car in store for him. Why are we settling for one human event to be fixed. We should be going to God with the desire to have our nature uplifted and to see what God has in store for us. His super-abundance is waiting for us. We just never thought to go so far outside the box as to expect more. Is it that you don’t feel worthy? You’re wrong. You are God’s beloved child. It is your Father’s great pleasure to give you the kingdom. Come to divine Love and let it change you. Then your friend’s annoying personalities will somehow be eliminated. Even broken cars will somehow be handled and in a way that may be unexpected. Don’t limit in any way what God can do. Last point. How will you know when your prayer is correct, when the right inspiration has come to you in dealing with human event? You will know when you reach, in your study, an absolute conclusion as opposed to a human outline. Hold to that absolute fact and don’t let it go. Stay focused and let that Truth guide you and inspire you to think, speak and act in accord with that inspiration.
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