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Speak gently to the erring ones,
They must have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
O win them back again.
Speak gently, ’tis a little thing,
Dropped in the heart’s deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.
(Hymn 315 – verses 2 & 3 from the Christian Science Hymnal)
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Mark Swinney, a full-time Christian Science healer and teacher, is interviewed on the topic of spiritual parenting. This audio chat was originally aired on 18 January 2011. To listen, or to read the text of the interview, click here.
The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p518: 15-19)
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Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p192:27)
Already it’s 2025! Sometimes a new year will cause us to reflect on the year just gone and consider whether we made the most of the opportunities it presented; whether we learned from the challenges; whether we progressed in some way. More likely we will be thinking ahead. Will this be the year I lose weight, exercise more, find a better job? We may even set goals for ourselves.
If we are honest, we must admit that most of our goals are personal ones aren’t they? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a better version of ourselves in some way, but what if our goals were larger? What would the world be like if we all decided to contribute to making the world a better, more peaceful place? Traditional Christmas carols express hope for ‘peace on earth, good will toward men’. What if this desire was not just a line in a song but our personal goal?
You might ask: How can I make a difference? The world is in such a difficult state – there is poverty, and there are wars, and terrible injustices. How can I help with that, you ask? Every thought and every action contribute to the mental atmosphere of our environment. Are we contributing to a more peaceful environment in our daily interactions? Are we patient and supportive when the person behind the counter is new at their job? Are we gracious in traffic when someone inadvertently cuts us off? Are we forgiving when a waiter makes an error in our order? Are we generous to those less fortunate than ourselves? Every one of these actions contributes to your own and others’ feeling of being loved and valued. Isn’t that what we all need? Isn’t this what really makes life work right?
The Golden Rule: ‘ Treat others as you would want to be treated’, isn’t just a Christian saying. A quick Google search reveals that it is a core demand of every major religion and school of thought. The world knows that it is love that makes things work right. This time next year when we look back on 2025, let’s hope we can all say that we contributed to the peace of the world. Starting right here with our everyday actions we can do our part in building peace.
This article was contributed by Deborah Packer, a member of the Canberra Christian Science community.
This article, by Suzanne Riedel, was first published in the December 16, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
For ages, many have acknowledged that practicing peace and goodwill is fundamental to human life. A few examples of this come to mind, such as the 2023 Academy Award-winning short animated film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (based on a book by Charlie Mackesy). In the film, the mole asks the boy what he wants to be when he grows up. The boy’s immediate answer is “Kind.”
Human gravitation toward goodwill, or benevolence, is also explored in Charles Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol. In it, Ebenezer Scrooge’s hardened rejection of good is transformed as he eventually feels the true spirit of Christmas. In such tales, the takeaway is often that kindness and goodwill are innate to the human heart and prevail even when people’s opinions and beliefs are threatened. They are qualities that are basic to a peaceful, thriving society.
Click here to read (or listen) to the rest of this article where Suzanne proves that Love is not just a feeling but a divine force that heals both physical and relationship problems at Christmas time and always.
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For those who seek to know how to think and pray about conflict take comfort in these readings from the Bible (KJV) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy on the topic: Love – the Only Response to Conflict.
by Deborah Huebsch published in the September 16, 2024 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
Because everyone is God-created, it is possible to see that each individual is worthy of—and able to—love.
Burning, white-hot hatred. We know it when we see it—fueling wars, spawning deep political divisions. Most of us yearn to see hatred give way at least to tolerance—and certainly love would be the ideal. But how do we get there?
You might be thinking, “I don’t hate.” Or, “I don’t personally deal with hatred.” But as we take a closer look, we may recognize ways we do feel dislike, animosity, or even hostility. For example, are we neutral when it comes to politics? We might even find ourselves rationalizing these feelings because, after all, there seem to be reasons for them. …
Click here to continue reading, or to listen to, Deborah’s article. In it she describes how she managed to overcome a long-term hatred and how she now uses this understanding to help her bring a sense of peace to other areas of her life.
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Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p192:27)
People calling themselves influencers seem to proliferate on social media nowadays. A quick Google search revealed that they are often people who have come to prominence because of their particular skills. Some were wildlife ‘warriors’, some were sports people, some musicians, and some seemed to be famous just for being famous. There were many!
This started me thinking about what it means to be an influencer. Are we not all influencers in some respect? When my son was in primary school, each year he was seated next to classmates who found listening to instructions and staying on task difficult. The idea was that my son, who was a steady and capable worker, would be a good influence on his desk-mate. I asked him if he minded this. He said that if he could help someone else achieve more or be more successful, then he was happy to do this.
When I thought more about this, I realised that all of us are exerting an influence in some form. I ask myself: Am I, like my son, accepting that the way I handle life can be an influence for good?
In our day-to-day lives dealing with routine tasks at work, in the family or the community our actions are not neutral. We are always contributing to the mental atmosphere for better or for worse. The way we handle situations that seem not to go smoothly can have a big impact on those around us. Our response when we think someone has acted thoughtlessly, or has inconvenienced us, influences the mental atmosphere. If we meet each of these situations with grace, compassion, forgiveness, generosity then we have been an influencer for good.
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science writes: Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. (p192 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures). This is an hourly – even a moment by moment – demand on each of us. This is how we too can be real influencers for good.
Contributed by a member of the Canberra Christian Science community.
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