Category: Employment/jobs

Who is man?

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

I love this week’s Bible Lesson on the subject of Man.  These weekly Lesson’s offer such a great structure for learning and growing spiritually on a daily and weekly basis.

This week’s Lesson is all about how man is the blest and loved child of God.  It includes the first chapter of Genesis on how God created man in His (or Her) own image and likeness – in the image and likeness of Spirit.  Therefore, man (including all mankind) is spiritual and perfect right now.

We are healed by simply realizing this fact.  When we feel tempted to stress, feel afraid or burdened, or look down on ourselves or others, we can dismiss that thought or fear and know what is really true about ourselves.  We are the blessed and loved child of God.  God created us spiritual and perfect.  We are the embodiment of intelligence, poise, grace, confidence, joy and we have infinite abilities and talents which come from God.

So why think any other thoughts about ourselves or others?  We don’t have too.  We can stick to the Scientific facts about God and His perfect, good creation.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in her inspiring book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, to “stand porter at the door of thought”.  This falls under the marginal heading entitled “Guarding the door” (p. 392).  Guarding the door of our thought is such a simple and effective way to only let God’s thoughts into our consciousness, and thereby let our experience be governed by divine Mind.  The result is harmonious, healthy bodies, good, unselfish relationships, and fulfilling work and supply.

She writes, “The conceptions of mortal, erring thought must give way to the ideal of all that is perfect and eternal. Through many generations human beliefs will be attaining diviner conceptions, and the immortal and perfect model of God’s creation will finally be seen as the only true conception of being.” (p. 260)

So we can start right now by only accepting the good, true and perfect model.  God’s creation is spiritual, universal, and complete, and He made all that was made – entirely good.  This Truth blesses and uplifts everyone.  We are all God’s beloved, cared for children.

Man is not the creator.

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

When we think man is a creator, we think that man is responsible for creating health; he or she must have perfect genetics to make up the perfect child.  Man has to maintain and sustain himself through a job, money, right connections, exercise, healthy eating, and at the same time try to fulfill his own hopes and dreams.

This is a lot of stress on man.  And it has side-effects such as stubbornness, human will, manipulation, deceit, as well as selfishness, competition, and fear.

Fortunately, this picture is not accurate.

Spirit, God created man, perfect in His own image and likeness.  Man has all the qualities and characteristics to do and achieve that which he needs.  They are including in his being.  All of his hopes and aspirations are given to him by God and therefore fulfilled and satisfied through Him.  God blesses his children with beautiful relationships that are loving, kind, and caring.  God supplies all of man’s needs and wants because man’s purpose is to glorify and express God (Life, Truth, Love).  Man’s sufficiency comes from God.

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”[i]

All beauty, fruitfulness and plenty come from God and are the attributes of His government.  There is no lack or limitation to the infinite, supreme, all good, God.

“And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.”[ii]

When we are conscious of this Truth, we are governed by divine Mind.  We hear God’s direction and are one with God’s thoughts, which are always good, lovely, assuring angel messages.  We are governed obediently, following and yielding to the divine will, which includes and blesses all with infinite intelligence.

“Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”[iii]

So we can be reassured and rest in God’s love.  We can yield to this spiritual sense of things, which is telling us this truth each moment, uplifting and blessing us.

And we can make more space for God, Spirit, in our lives.  God, good, is already governing and controlling things.  Our duty is to be conscious and aware of this.  This takes daily prayer to quiet the limited human sense of things for the spiritual and true sense of what God sees and knows.  As we yield to this we will be governed by divine Mind and we will experience the fruits of this government in our lives.  This includes more consistent health, a greater sense of energy and purpose, better family relationships, a more stable structure, and abundant supply that comes with ease.

Spirit, which is infinite intelligence, governs all things perfectly and It’s reign is here and now.  Let’s yield to this in our thought and feel the blessings that are included for all mankind.

For more helpful ideas visit www.christianscience.com or read “Science and Health” by Mary Baker Eddy.

[i] The Holy Bible, King James Version, II Cor. 3:5

[ii] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Deut. 28:11

[iii] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Psalms 100:3

Loving Ourselves

Published on by lindseybiggs1 Comment

I read an interesting article the other day.  It pointed out to love ourselves first, and then we will have the ability to love our neighbor as ourselves.[i] I feel this point is important when understood in a spiritual perspective.

If I see myself as the spiritual idea that God created – beautiful, useful, intelligent, filled with right ideas, creative, and shining – then I express that, and I’m able to see others that way.

On the contrary, if I’m not seeing myself spiritually, then I’m probably not going to see others spiritually as well.  If I only love myself a little bit or some of the time, than I’m only going to love my neighbor a little bit or some of the time.  We can see ourselves as the spiritual perfect man or woman that God created, and in that way we can be uplifted and help uplift others.

When we love ourselves as God’s child then we naturally bless and include others.  We radiate God’s light.  We see ourselves through the lens of Love, and we are able to see others in the same way.  Giving becomes easier.  We are more productive and appreciative.  We feel more spontaneity, energy and enthusiasm.

Negative thoughts about yourself are draining.  They take away our strength and lead to discouragement.  They may be regret, inadequacy, unworthiness, fear of failure, or lack of confidence.  On the other hand they may be self-righteousness or self-justification.  The type of attitude that says, “I don’t care what anyone else feels; I’m going to do it anyway”; Or it may be criticizing others so that we feel better.  This isn’t loving ourselves as God made us either.

We are each the beloved child of God.  God knows us as spiritual and perfect, eternally abiding in His kingdom.  “In Him we live and move and have our being”.[ii] Therefore we can never be apart from God or leave His side.  No mistake or accident from the past can taint us today.  We are “new-born”[iii] each day, and we can always “put on the new man”[iv].

I had the privilege of attending a Christian marriage seminar shortly after I was married.  Wonderful ideas were shared including this one that I like: we are 100% responsible for how we feel.  This takes pressure off your spouse or anyone else to be the one to please or make you happy.  And it takes pressure off of you to look for someone to make you feel good.

When we are responsible for how we feel, we are much nicer to be around and easier to get along with.  We don’t have to look to someone else for approval or satisfaction; we can look to God to know we are taking the right step and walking the right way.  We can check with God before we do or say anything.  And we know we are already loved.  I like revising the well-known Bible statement that says, “We love him, because he first loved us”[v] to say ‘we love ourselves, because God first loved us’.

Loving yourself is being obedient to God.  God made you and created you.  Loving yourself is acknowledging God’s wonderful creation.   It isn’t selfish at all.  And we are more valuable to Him when we see who we are as He/She created us to be – perfect and eternal in His/Her own spiritual image and likeness.

So let’s love ourselves today, and in that way we will truly be able to love others.

[i] Christian Science Sentinel, “A Promise of Progress”, T. Michael Fish, July 5, 2010

[ii] Holy Bible, King James Version, Acts 17:28

[iii] Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 35

[iv] Holy Bible, King James Version, Eph 4:24, Col 3:10

[v] Holy Bible, King James Version, I John 4:19