  Obedience is so underestimated. As if it would come ever out of style. Take away the aspect of "personal domination" and relink the word with "wisdom" and "time-tested methods". The word "obedience" sounds old-fashioned and out-dated, I know. Yet obedience is everything. This applies to learning any skill and to mastering any art - learning to play the trumpet, to fly a plane, to speak Mandarin, to become a lawyer, electrician, potter, author, cook. You follow the rules as closely as you can and you observe and copy what you see from your teacher, professor, gaffer, or foreman. In order to come up with once own perspective of an art, wisdom teaches that one must first grow into mastering it yourself to a certain degree - and there is no way to come up with good reasons for breaking a rule before you have learned to keep them first, especially when you are under pressure. That is the test. Tomorrow I will bake a "Tarte aux Pommes" for our family. It is a French recipe and it involves following the rules and using my tools. I do not expect ever to be such a good baker nor do I feel the need to improve the recipe for tarte aux pommes - it is wonderful to recreate in one's own kitchen what others have already established and tested over time, and again and again in their own kitchens. I follow the rules and expect a glorious result. There is truly not much difference when it comes to the rules of Life. Following the rules and using your tools keeps you on the progressive path and safely on the route to inner peace and meaningful living. I continue to look for rules in spiritual texts, I take note and they empower me to simplify my prayer life and daily experience. Most often, one of the rules answers one of those questions: What must be done? What is the next step? Is forgiveness always important? The rules I collect come from the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's writings, accompanying the Bible. You may start your own collection, and in order to do so, you will spend more time with study and prayer. A helpful tool is "Concord Express" on the JSH-Online Website, and if you want to see the whole picture, get the full concordance to the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's Writings called "Concord", here. Rules from the Science of Life Consult thy every-day life. To impersonalize scientifically the material sense of existence – rather than cling to personality – is the lesson of today. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances. Test everything and hold on to what is good. Casting out evil and fear enables truth to outweigh error. The only course is to take antagonistic grounds against all that is opposed to the health, holiness, and harmony of man, God's image. Leave the distinctions of individual character (...) to the Father. ...let us add one more privilege – namely silence, whenever it can substitute censure. Change the evidence. Be no afraid. At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good. (Christ Jesus’ rule in Matthew 6:33. KJV; Paul’s rules in I Thess. 5: 14-21. NLT; Mary Baker Eddy’s rules in 1902, p. 25, Mis., p. 310; Science and Health, p. 392, 571, 297, 411; No&Yes p. 8)  Comments are closed.
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In my work as Christian Science practitioner and writer I draw on listening to God and listening to people. 
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August 2024
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