The Omniscience Of God — 1958 Association Address
by Herbert E. Rieke
Table of Contents
The Omniscience Of God
There are four simple approaches in the practice of Christian Science. They are the omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, and omni-action of God. As we realize the omnipotence of good we see that evil has no power. As we recognize the omnipresence of good we see that evil has no presence. By understanding the omni-activity of good we see that evil cannot act, function, or operate. Through the clear discernment of the omniscience of good we recognize that there is no knowledge evil. Today I would like to discuss with you the omniscience of God or good, and the application of this great truth to the solution of human problems.
You know the word “omniscience” means all science, or all true knowledge. The Bible and all-important religious documents attribute to God the quality of omniscience. But many of these documents assume that since God knows all things He has a knowledge of both good and evil. The second chapter of Genesis indicates that Eve sinned when she partook of the knowledge of both good and evil. If God includes a knowledge of evil He too would be a sinner.
Christian Science teaches emphatically that God has no knowledge of evil; He has only the knowledge of good. This simple but dynamic fact is particularly emphasized in the two works of our Leader which we have been studying carefully during the last year – Unity of Good and No and Yes. Theoretically I am sure that all of us have accepted the fact that “God is of too pure eyes to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity.” (Hab. 1:13) But I am wondering whether we have realized the full significance of this great fact.
In her book Unity of Good our Leader asks on page 1, “Does God know or behold sin, sickness, and death?” She then goes on to say, “The nature and character of God is so little apprehended and demonstrated by mortals, that I counsel my students to defer this infinite inquiry in their discussion of Christian Science.” This was written in 1887. I am sure at that time it was not right to push this radical statement of truth to the front; but I am certain also that our Leader expected us as sincere students of Christian Science seventy years later, to thoroughly explore the marvelous implications of this truth. With newcomers I think it is still wise to be careful not to push this point. It appears to me that many healings have been held up, and other demonstrations have been incomplete because individuals have held on to a lingering belief that God knows about their trouble and shortcomings.
In their prayers most people believe that God knows about their sickness, and they are begging Him to do something about it, to remove it as it were. But Christian Science teaches that if God knows sickness or is aware of disease, then there is disease in His Mind, and He cannot be altogether good. Christian Science emphasizes that the one and only divine Mind knows nothing about discomfort, uneasiness, disease, sickness, or inharmony. It further emphasizes that this divine Mind is our mind and therefore that we as God’s reflections have no knowledge of discord, discomfort, or disease.
It is not enough to realize that God has no knowledge of disease. We must go further and acknowledge that God’s knowledge is the only knowledge there is. Our Leader makes this plain on page 7 of Unity of Good: “When I have most clearly seen and most sensibly felt that the infinite recognizes no disease, this has not separated me from God, but has so bound me to Him as to enable me instantaneously to heal a cancer which had eaten its way to the jugular vein.” You will notice in this statement that she not only affirms that God knows nothing about disease, but also that God is infinite. How clear it is that since the All and Only recognizes no disease there is no recognition of it in the consciousness or experience of anyone.
In your practice of Christian Science be careful as to what you are thinking when you say that God heals sickness. If you mean that the divine Mind is constantly revealing the perfection of being, and thus demonstrating that there is no sickness, you are scientifically correct. But if there is a lingering thought that God is somehow doing something to sickness, even to the extent of destroying it, you are on the wrong track. As far as God is concerned disease is not even something to be destroyed, for the Mind of God is all good.
We must be alert not to start our reasoning from an imperfect mortal standpoint, thinking that by turning to God He will do something about erroneous mortality. This fact was brought out very beautifully in one of our radio programs several weeks ago. Possibly many of you will remember the experience of the sailor who had difficulty with vision. He decided to get to work and really solve the problem in Christian Science. The following are his words: “I started with the definition of ‘eyes’ as Mary Baker Eddy gives it in ‘Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures’ (p. 586). She defines eyes as ‘Spiritual discernment, — not material but mental.’ While I was thinking over this definition the thought came to me that as my spiritual discernment increased my eyesight would improve. Then I discovered a subtle mistake in my line of reasoning — I was starting from the premise that my eyesight was defective, but in practicing Christian Science one should always begin with God and the perfection of all that He creates, including the real man in God’s own image and likeness. To begin with God would be to begin with unlimited spiritual discernment, with perfect vision. I reasoned that since man is the reflection of God, in reality he must express perfect discernment, perfect vision. In other words, I stopped thinking of myself as a human being striving to demonstrate better eyesight, and recognized that the real spiritual man already expresses all of the qualities of God, including perfect discernment. This line of thought quieted the fear that the violent headaches would return, and I laid aside my glasses.” He further related that from then on he had perfect vision. (Christian Science Sentinel, Volume 59, Number 30, page 1308) This young man saw clearly that God does not destroy defective eyesight, for He knows nothing about such an error. He saw clearly that God, the perfect source of all being, is constantly revealing perfect spiritual discernment in the experience of every idea.
Many a Christian Scientist has held up his healing by half unconsciously asking, “Why does God do this to me? Why does God permit this inharmony to exist in my experience?” As we, without reservation, accept the fact that God, divine Mind, knows nothing about discord or inharmony, and as we claim this one divine Mind as our mind, we find then that all knowledge of discomfort disappears, and we are truly well.
You have the right and duty, for instance, to know that God knows nothing about the disease called cancer, or the contributing factors called mental rebellion, resentment, hatred, and fear. Since both you and your patient are the image and likeness of God you therefore see clearly that neither of you know anything about the symptoms of cancer nor the contributing factors. You are both full of the knowledge of God, of good, “as the waters cover the sea.” We must refuse to be modern Eves with a knowledge of evil by refusing to have a God who has a knowledge thereof, or who makes us capable of knowing evil. We must claim a heavenly Father-Mother God who knows only His immutable perfection, and who makes us capable of knowing only His kingdom of heaven.
You are denying the omniscience of God whenever you declare that you are sick or in pain. Whenever you believe you are sick or that you think there is something wrong, you are denying the omniscience of God, and asserting that there is some knowledge apart from Him. Our Master said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) In every Christian Science treatment you are helping yourself and your patient to find this eternal life. In this divine knowledge of God and the true man made in His image, there is no knowledge of sickness, no awareness or disease to be found. Whenever you read about disease or listen to radio or T.V. programs on the subject you are being sacrilegious because you are partaking of a knowledge of something beside God or good.
As you recognize the fact that the one divine Mind recognizes no disease this does not place you in a forlorn position where you feel separated from the divine Creator, for by acknowledging that this one divine Mind is the infinite Mind the all-Mind, the only Mind, and therefore your mind, you too find yourself so closely bound to Him that you too are able to help a patient find freedom from the belief of cancer or any other disease.
Suppose that a very fine pianist knows his musical composition so perfectly that he doesn’t know how to make an error in playing it. Can discords or inharmonies then show up in the rendition? Since God is the omniscient, all-knowing Mind, and since He only knows infinite perfection, does it not then follow that the manifestation must be perfect and harmonious? If the music that comes forth from the piano is discordant and imperfect, does it not follow that the player does not know his stuff, as it were? If we believe in imperfection we are believing that God is not omniscient, that He doesn’t know how to bring out His own infinite harmony. Many individuals are trying too hard to know the truth of themselves. Let them really have a Creator who knows only the truth and then they will have a creation, including themselves, that naturally knows only the truth.
Now let us give consideration to the fact that God, the one divine Mind, or heavenly Father-Mother Creator, knows nothing about sin. All orthodox religions teach that God knows about sin and punishes the one who indulges in it. Christian Science emphasizes that God knows nothing about sin or about a sinner. Most individuals, and even Christian Scientists, are half afraid that God will mete out punishment, because of their sins. They are half afraid to throw themselves in the arms of divine justice, for they feel that they might get what they think they deserve. Mrs. Eddy says this is human reasoning. On page 161 of The First Church of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany she tells us, “Lest human reason becloud spiritual understanding, say not in thy heart: Sickness is possible because one’s thought and conduct do not afford a sufficient defence against it.” The great basic fact is that evil is impossible because the one all-knowing Mind knows nothing about it. Christian Science assures us that God sees you and me and every one of His ideas as perfect, sinless, pure, and righteous. He has never punished anyone throughout eternity, for He knows no sin to punish. This is why we can throw ourselves into His arms of divine Love with complete confidence that the results will be good. Fear of punishment never made a man good. Fear of God’s wrath has driven many an individual away from God.
Now I am sure that you can see that in teaching that God knows nothing about sin we cannot indulge in wrong thinking and acting and console ourselves with the thought that God knows nothing about it, and will therefore not punish us. For when we declare that the infinite Mind knows nothing about sin we are also emphasizing the fact that it is the infinite Mind, the all-Mind, the only Mind, and therefore our mind. For an individual to indulge in sin is virtually to affirm that the “I,” the “Ego” knows about sin. But in Christian Science we have learned that there is only one “I or Ego” and therefore to affirm that the “Ego” knows about sin is to affirm that God knows about it. For truthfully, if the creature has a knowledge of sin it has been put there by his Creator. Now sin is disobedience to God’s law. Is it conceivable that God would build that quality of disobedience into His creature? We cannot console ourselves while indulging in sin with the thought that God doesn’t see it or know anything about it; for we are virtually then separating ourselves in belief from the one divine Mind that knows only good. And it is in this belief of separation that one finds all the discords and troubles of the world.
Just as we have to be alert in regard to the thought that God heals sickness, just so we need to be on guard in regard to the statement that God redeems us from sin. If we mean that God reveals the allness of perfect being, and thus demonstrates that there is no sin or sinner, we are of course accurate. But if we are thinking about man as having separated himself from God through disobedience, and if we are thinking about God as doing something to sin or the sinner, we are virtually saying that God has a knowledge of sin.
When you take your watch to the pawn show and hock it you get a ticket, and later on you are supposed to be able to go back and redeem your watch by paying the amount loaned plus interest. You then get your watch back. Old theology has presented the concept that through the sins of Adam all men got separated from God. This theology has taught that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross brought the redemption of mankind. It has taught that this sacrifice appeased God’s wrath and has brought man back into communion or grace with God. This would indicate that the one divine Mind knew about the fall of man and did something to redeem him. All such teaching would indicate that God has a knowledge of sin. Through Christian Science we have corrected such theological errors with the recognition that as far as God is concerned there is never any departure from nor return to harmony. We see the life of Christ Jesus, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, not as events that redeem us from sin, but rather as an example how we may live to find our oneness with the true God.
Let us take several examples.
Suppose you get angry. Does God know anything about that anger, and does He punish you in some way for getting angry? No, but you are virtually building up a false concept of God, virtually saying, “I, the Ego, my Ego is angry.” You have virtually accepted a false God, an angry God, an angry “I Am,” an angry “Ego.” There is only one way to find safety and security and that is to acknowledge that the I, the Ego, is never angry, for the only I there is, is Love, which includes kindness, consideration, joy, happiness, and all good qualities. This one divine I or Ego knows no anger, and therefore nothing to punish.
Suppose that you should indulge in selfishness and self-will. Does God punish you for this? Certainly not, because the divine Mind knows nothing about selfishness and self-will. You have just accepted a false god, saying I, the Ego, my Ego, is selfish. Of course, this false concept of God brings about a belief of punishment.
Let us take another example. Suppose one is unfaithful to his marriage vows. Does the one and only true God punish him for this? Certainly not, because the one perfect Mind knows nothing of sin. But can you not see that the individual is saying the I, the Ego, my Ego, my God, is faithless, dishonest, unfair, and disobedient? And of course, if you accept that concept of God you cannot help but find discord and punishment. The only salvation is found in accepting the one true Love which knows nothing about infidelity, dishonesty, or faithlessness. As one accepts only the perfect Ego or I, which is God, he finds himself free from the torture of all false gods.
Many individuals reason thusly: I know that God has no knowledge of sin or evil, but I certainly have such a knowledge. If the creature has a knowledge of sin, must not the Creator also have such a knowledge? There cannot be anything in the creature which was not put there by the Creator. When you have a creature who knows sin you virtually have a Creator who knows sin. But the very moment you have a Creator, or Father-Mother God, who knows no evil, no sin, no imperfection — right then and there you begin to find it easy to see yourself as free from sin and imperfections. The Master brought this out when he said, “Ye are therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” When we really accept the concept of a perfect God with all our heart and soul and mind, we automatically have a perfect man.
It is along this line that we can all do a lot of good metaphysical work. It is not enough for us in a rather abstract way to declare that God knows nothing about evil or sin. Let us see that this means that our heavenly Mind knows nothing about sin, and therefore we can have no thought in regard thereto. Let us rejoice that our heavenly Life, your life and my life, the life of everyone, knows nothing about sin. Then we shall not find sinful acts in the experience of ourself or anyone else. Let us be thankful that our heavenly Principle knows no sin, and then we shall find nothing but pure motives and forces operating in us and in others.
When we indulge in self-condemnation we are truly indulging in God condemnation. If you keep lambasting yourself for your sins, you are really lambasting your sense of Creator. You are virtually saying that He has a knowledge of sin and the ability to produce it in you. There is only one remedy for self-condemnation and that is God appreciation. The very moment you really accept a perfect God you will see that there is absolutely nothing to condemn or to find fault with in yourself or others.
Now let us take another phase of our experience. Sometimes individuals are troubled with the thought of lack or beauty and loveliness. They just know that they are not as beautiful and lovely as they would like to be. And of course this false sense of knowledge is the only thing that would seem to bring forth a manifestation of that which is less than perfect and beautiful. When one says or thinks, “I am not beautiful” he is virtually denying the beauty and perfection of his Creator. He is saying, “The I, my Ego, the Ego, is not beautiful.” Through Christian Science we are learning that the one Ego or I is forever beautiful. Remember the statement in Isaiah, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.” In order to have a beautiful creation you have to have a beautiful Creator. The very moment you have a beautiful Creator who knows only beauty, sees only beauty, and feels and experiences only beauty, that very moment you will have a man manifesting beauty and loveliness. “Out of Zion, the perfection of Beauty, God hath shined.” (Psalms 50:2) We can all take a definite stand and refuse to behold anything but beauty in us and the things round about us. Our heavenly Creator looks at everything that He makes and behold it is very good. It is very beautiful. God knows nothing but beauty, and God’s Mind is the only Mind there is. Therefore, there is no knowledge of anything but the beautiful. We might paraphrase that statement on page 7 of Unity of Good thus: When we clearly see and sensibly feel that the Infinite recognizes no unloveliness or ugliness, this does not separate us from God but binds us to Him so as to enable us to bring forth beauty in everything with which we deal. God does not look out from His window of heaven and see His creation as a very wicked generation, a very ugly manifestation. He sees His beauty and holiness everywhere. We can look at the universe through His eyes and see everything as beautiful, perfect, and lovely. In this way we can demonstrate beauty in ourselves, and help others to manifest divine loveliness.
The omniscient Mind knows no injustice. The very moment we say, “But I know injustice in my factory, in my office, in my church, in my home, or in the world,” we are then saying that the I, the Ego, the God, knows injustice. Some Christian Scientists claim to be authorities on the subject of injustice — they just know there is injustice. To find the kingdom of heaven on earth we must stop saying and thinking that we are aware of grave injustices. Let us rejoice that the one and only divine Mind knows no injustice, that we are at one with this Mind and therefore we see justice as expressed everywhere in everyone all the time. We see each idea as honestly rewarded by the one divine Mind which is the source of all good. What we know for sure is what we experience. It is certainly then time for all of us to rejoice with the absolute conviction that the divine justice reigns, is all, and that there is no other government.
Do you know anything about lack and limitation? If you reply in the affirmative you are saying that your God knows about lack and limitation. But God knows no such thing. He knows only of His infinite nature. Can He prepare a table in the wilderness? What cannot God do? Let us face the reality of being that God knows no lack or limitation; He knows only his infinite super-abundance of being. This true God, this true divine Mind, is your only I or Ego, and therefore you have no knowledge but an abundance of spiritual understanding, and abundance of love, an abundance of supply, an abundance of all good.
Many people almost declare with pride, “I know what it means to be poor. I was reared in a family where we did not have much. I know what it means to go hungry. I know what it feels like to have many creditors at one’s door. I know the heartaches that come from poverty. I know what it means to experience lack of love, lack of inspiration, lack of friends, lack of opportunity, lack of supply.” That is the only reason people experience lack — because they declare with finality that they have a knowledge of it. Jesus said, “To him that hath shall be given and from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he seemeth to have.” In other words, if you are worshipping a God, an Ego, that hath, if you are worshipping a God that is unlimited and unrestricted in His being, you will find good flowing unto you. But if you think in terms of what you have not, if you are constantly thinking in terms of your limitation and restrictions, then you will find that which you even seem to have is taken away from you. It is only because you are worshiping a limited and restricted God or I Am.
Many individuals are virtually praying that God will do something to eliminate the poverty of the world. They are going about it in the wrong manner. God knows nothing about poverty. He knows only the abundance of being. Socialism and Communism would encourage us to take what they have called the limited wealth of the world and divide it among the citizens. The basic error in these political concepts of course is to be found in the thought that the wealth of the universe is limited. The Creator knows no limitation — He has created a universe that knows no limitation. If you and I think back to the year 1900 and conceive of dividing all the wealth of the world equally among the citizens, we would not have very much. That certainly was not the solution. It is not a question of dividing the limited sense of good but multiplying it again and again in an ever- expanding economy that an abundance of good might be experienced by everyone. True economy is found not in division, but in multiplication. We do not divide the millions, but help everyone to be a millionaire. Of course, not just in a material sense but in true ideas.
In your practice of Christian Science handle the argument of limitation vigorously. Refuse to think in terms of limitation as to your ability to practice Christian Science. Rejoice that the divine Mind, the only Mind, and therefore your mind, knows no limits of accomplishment. Never be grateful for the little you know about Christian Science! You can so appreciate the infinitude of perfection that you help everyone to find health. You can know so thoroughly the everywhere presence and the omnipotence of divine Life that you help everyone to see the non-existence of death.
Your Creator knows only success, and therefore creation is a perfect and complete manifestation of successful activity. God knows no failure. And you are at one with this divine, infinite Mind. Therefore, you see everything you do as successful and progressive — whether it is baking a cake, running a business, or giving a Christian Science treatment. Vehemently refuse to have a failing Creator, and then you can never have a failing man or a failing creation. Face the facts that our heavenly Mind is always successful in accomplishment, that our heavenly Mind is always in perfect operation, producing good. Declare with understanding that you know no failure, because you live in that Mind which knows only success.
Now I want to talk on a very vital and important subject. God, the one divine and eternal Life, knows nothing about death. Old theology indicates that God knows a lot about death, and many Christian Scientists have not been radical enough in their repudiation of this old theology. In many funeral sermons you hear the statement, “God gives and God takes away.” No greater lie was ever stated that God takes people in death. One Christian Scientist I was talking to during the past year said, “When it is my time to go, when God is ready to take me, I am ready.” That would indicate that God has a knowledge of this thing called death. So ingrained is this in the thinking of some people that they are unwilling to give up their knowledge of death for the true knowledge of eternal Life. The very moment that individuals stop knowing that they are going to die sometime, and begin to recognize the fact that God has no knowledge of death, that very moment they will begin to demonstrate over death.
The Master had been teaching the unreality of sin, disease and death. In the crucifixion the Jewish rulers were trying to prove that Jesus had a knowledge of evil and specifically of death. Through his resurrection I am sure he recognized the fact that God, his Father-Mother Principle, knew nothing about death. He saw himself as at one with divine Life, and knew therefore that he could have no knowledge of death. It was of course this fact that enabled him to walk forth from the tomb and demonstrate his dominion.
It is never God’s will that anyone should die. In Ezekiel we read, “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord. Therefore, turn ye and live.” God, eternal Life, not only has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, but He has no knowledge of death. How could He, when He is Life everlasting? How could light have a knowledge of darkness, or good have a knowledge of evil?
Very often people say, “You can’t tell me there isn’t any death. I have seen people die. In fact, everyone has to die sometime.” Most individuals almost claim that they are connoisseurs on the subject of death, and through this false knowledge of course they are digging their own graves.
Let’s face the facts of eternal Life. Enoch did. He walked with God. He acknowledged the simple fact that his Creator knew nothing about death. He saw himself as at one with his Creator, and therefore was translated that he should not taste of death. Elijah knew that his Creator knew nothing about death. He was willing to think as God thinks, and be as God is. He too triumphed and proved that the knowledge of eternal Life frees us from the belief in death. Jesus knew that God has no knowledge of death. He said, “Those who believe in me shall not taste of death.” Again he said, “This is Life eternal that they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hath sent.” If Jesus had thought for a moment that his Creator knew anything about death, he by reflection, would have known it, experience it, and we would not have had the resurrection.
As Jesus stood by the grave of Lazarus he knew that God had not taken his friend anywhere. He knew that God knew nothing about what others called the death of Lazarus. He knew that his heavenly Creator, the divine Life, was so dynamic in its presence, power, and glory, that there could be no knowledge of death in the consciousness or experience of anyone. He told the people to loose Lazarus and let him go. He told Martha that there was nothing but the knowledge of eternal Life right there and then.
Since God knows nothing about death, it certainly follows that He knows nothing about states or stages of consciousness. The eternal Life does not think of us as passing from one plane to another. As far as God is concerned we are all in that divine understanding, and there is no other consciousness. The heavenly eternal Mind knows no chance no change. Sometimes we hear individuals say, “Well of course there is no death. We will live on forever, but God takes us from this plane to the next one.” That would indicate that God knows something about what people have called death or passing on. This is just theosophy, nothing more. There is only one way to demonstrate eternal Life as Enoch, Elijah and Jesus demonstrated it, and that is to recognize that Life knows no death, no passing on, no change. We can unite with this one divine Mind and have a knowledge of eternal Life now. We can be free from fears of death, of passing on, of a cessation of Life.
I wish that you would affirm with me that God, eternal Life, knows nothing about death. Eternal Life, your life, knows nothing about death. You are an authority on eternal Life. But as far as death is concerned you know nothing, and will never know anything about it. God knows only the beautiful, harmonious unfoldment of infinite good, wherein is no decay, decrepitude, or disillusion. Therefore you, by reflection, know only this infinite unfoldment of good. Let us acknowledge our oneness with this eternal Life that knows no death, this eternal Truth that knows no error, and this divine Mind that knows no evil.
We can all do some very fine research along these lines greatly to our benefit, and we can meditate on these eternal facts. Our Leader tells us on page 1 of Unity of Good that as people “draw nearer to the divine character, and are practically able to testify, by their lives, that as they come closer to the true understanding of God, they lose all sense of error.”
There is no force nor power that can compel you to have a knowledge of any phase of evil, any more than there is a force that can compel you to accept the lie that two plus two is five. But we all do have to take a radical stand in recognizing that our God has no knowledge of evil in order to find ourselves in His knowledge of infinite good.
It is the function of education to impart knowledge. Even before you went to school knowledge was being imparted to you. I am sure you can see however that all education was not true knowledge; for a great deal was taught you which did not have the nature of infinite good. Those who come to you for help have also gone through the same educational processes. Your treatment must know enough to know that man is not full of a lot of false knowledge which influences him erroneously, but rather that he is full of the knowledge of God, good, “as the waters cover the sea.”
Most people know only what they have been taught, and through false education they have been taught to believe in life and death, good and evil, truth and error, God and the devil, as it were. Your treatments both audible and silent, must show forth the facts that there is truly the knowledge of life, truth, love, good, and perfection. It is only through prayer that we find a true knowledge, for as we listen to the one true God we find Him imparting to us wonderful and right ideas in regard to all things. It is only as we listen to Him that we find true knowledge.
It is never just what you say or think or believe that brings about results — it is what you know. The Master said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Our Leader tells us that, “Until belief becomes faith, and faith becomes spiritual understanding, human thought has little relation to the actual or divine.” The only way we can have this absolute conviction, this positive knowing is to realize that it is but a reflection of the knowledge of God; and we will not have the absolute conviction until we recognize that God knows nothing but immutable perfection. He knows only good.
On page 9 of Unity of Good our Leader says, “What is the cardinal point of the difference in my metaphysical system? This: that knowing the unreality of disease, sin, and death, you demonstrate the allness of God.” But how could you know the non-existence of disease, sin, and death, if God, the source of your being, knew about these evils? But the very moment you recognize that God, the All-in-all, knows nothing about evil, you by reflection have the same knowledge, and therefore can demonstrate the allness of God. Again, on page 447 of the textbook our Leader says, “The sick are not healed merely by declaring there is no sickness, but by knowing that there is none.” You have to be a “knower” to get good results. You not only need to know the truth, but know that you know it.
Long and wordy treatments without divine convictions are worthless. It is often better to take a single statement of truth and recognize that since God, the one divine Mind, knows this to be true, and since there is no other mind, that therefore you know this to be the absolute truth.
God knows that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that you are right in the midst of it. Since God is the only Mind, and therefore your mind, you know this to be the absolute truth. You accept it without reservation. It is not something you are trying to realize, or hoping to attain; it is the absolute truth and you know it.
After Jesus had given a treatment to a blind man spoken of in the Bible, the man later said, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” This absolute knowledge, this sincere, unwavering conviction, did not just happen; it was the result of the Master’s treatment in which he knew that man is full of the knowledge of God, of good, and therefore is full of the knowledge that he can see perfectly.
In the fourth chapter of Ephesians Paul brings out that we must come to the “knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
In your prayers, your treatments, your meditations, you must face up to the facts of being. It is not a question of what you hope, or wish, or think is happening in yourself or in the patient, it is a question of knowing, without doubt, without wavering, that infinite good is right there making itself manifest. This however cannot be human knowing on your part; it must be the reflected knowledge of God. It must be the absolute knowledge which proceeds from the omniscient God.
In giving your Christian Science treatments I urge you to devote much thought as to what God is knowing about Himself, what God is knowing about His universe, what God is knowing about you and your patient. Then be vigorous in your acknowledgement that this knowledge of God is the only knowledge there is. Then of course you are really knowing the truth that makes man free.
In practicing Christian Science, we are never dealing with material bodies, material businesses, relationships, homes, etc. — we are only dealing with thoughts and not just passing thoughts, but convictions. And it is our privilege to rejoice that the convictions are all on the side of God, good; for the earth is truly full of the knowledge of God.
God, good, is omniscient, the all-knowing Mind, the only knowing Mind, our heavenly knowing Mind. On this basis of divine knowledge, we practice Christian Science.
Omnipresence Of God
At previous Associations I have discussed the omnipotence of God, omniscience, omni-action of God, and today I want to talk about His omnipresence. I believe that there is a great deal more inspiration to be found in the recognition of the omnipresence of God than we have been in the habit of thinking. When we’re dealing with the thought of omnipresence we’re dealing with the subject of what we think we have with us. One day a little colored woman called me for help. She said, “Mr. Rieke, I’ve got the misery with me.” Now you see she was thinking that there was something present, and that something was misery. I told her of course that she had to think that there was something with her, but why not think that she had God with her. Why not contemplate the omnipresence of God, the omnipresence of good, instead of thinking that she had the misery with her. I showed her that in proportion as she sincerely and wholeheartedly acknowledged the presence of God, of good, in that proportion she would have no misery with her. She very willingly accepted this truth and in just a short time reported that she was completely well. Now all of us are constantly thinking that we have something with us. Sometimes we think we have pain with us. Sometimes we think we have a sense of lack with us. Sometimes we think we have troubles with us; at other times that we have imperfections and blemishes. Now as I said before, you always have to think that you’ve got something with you, and in Christian Science we’re learning that the only something is God, and His idea. Why not thoroughly acknowledge and admit perpetually that it is God, good, that is always with you, that the kingdom of God is truly within you and that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, or with you. Such an acknowledgement reveals harmony, peace, and perfection.
In our lesson a couple of months ago there was that beautiful passage from the 33rd chapter of Exodus where God told Moses, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Throughout the Bible we find it said again and again in regard to the different prophets and apostles, that God was with them. And then we find related that they did many mighty works and were divinely protected and inspired.
Let’s take the experience of Moses. You will remember that God told him, “Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee.” You see, Moses had that sense of the omnipresence of God, the omnipresence of good, and through that sense he found his dominion, his inspiration, and his power. He realized so completely the omnipresence of good, that we hear it said in the book of Exodus, “I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say.” He knew that God was with the minutest phases of his experience. All of us need to rejoice that God, good, is not only just with us in an abstract manner, but He is even with our mouth to teach us what we shall say. He is with every phase of our experience.
You will remember that God said to Isaiah, “Fear thou not, for I am with thee.” Here of course is the absolute remedy for fear — the acknowledgement of the omnipresence of good, that God is with us. And then you know of course that that passage goes on to say that evil shall be as nothing and as a thing of naught. For it is perfectly plain that when you acknowledge the presence of God, the presence of good, you are likewise acknowledging the absence of anything unlike God or good. When light is with you it certainly follows that darkness is not. When you’re acknowledging the absence of anything unlike God or good, and that God is with you, then there is no phase of evil with you. David, Elijah, Elisha, all the prophets, at one time or another, acknowledged that God was with them, and thus realized the non-existence of some discordant or enslaving experience.
One day I went to the Reading Room and took a large concordance that has all the words of the Bible in it, and I looked up every word of “with” in one of the four Gospels. It was thrilling the things that I discovered. And I invite you to give yourselves a treat by doing this some day when you’re in the reading Room. You will learn a lot more about the omnipresence of God by studying the word “with” than almost anything else. For instance, I read, “And Jesus was moved with compassion on them.” What was he realizing was present? Love. And it follows that he healed the sick. Moved with compassion. In other words, it was an acknowledgement of the presence of Love in his heart; that’s what gave him dominion and power. When you are moved with compassion, when you acknowledge the presence of abundant Love in your consciousness, you too of course can heal the sick. I copied down a lot of the little “withs.” It says, “No man can do these miracles except God be with him.” What was it bringing out there? The omnipresence of God. “Many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.” They weren’t ready to acknowledge this presence of God or good. You know, in the first chapter of Genesis it says, “And Adam and Eve went forth from the presence of God.” Now we don’t go forth from the presence of God, do we? Instead, we acknowledge the everywhere presence of God or good. “The Comforter will abide with you forever.” And “We will make our abode with Him.” “Peace I leave with you.”
It is most interesting that one of the definitions for the Christ is “Immanuel, God with us.” Here we are told in indisputable language that our Saviour is the acknowledgement of the omnipresence of God or good. Please note however that the Christ is not defined as God with me, but God with us. If you are seeking to realize that the spirit of God, of good, is with you, but at the same time are thinking that evil, or mortal mind, or error, is with someone else, then let me tell you honestly, you are not entertaining the Christ. Let me emphasize again, that the Christ is not God with me, it is God with us. It is only as we are entertaining this universal sense of God, of Love, with everybody, that we are welcoming the Christ in our hearts. And it’s only the Christ that heals. That’s when we’re really finding our Saviour. And I am going to tell you honestly, some Christian Science practitioners do not get the results that they should because they are trying to see God as present with them and a specific patient, and are not willing to think that God is present with the members of the Board of Directors of their church, and with the other Christian Science practitioners in their town, and with the officials in Boston and with – yes, even the Catholics around the corner. Now when you’re saying that God is with me but not with them, you’re indulging in anathema, you’re not entertaining the Christ, and you can see why very often individuals do not receive the help in Christian Science that they expect to receive. They are thinking too much in selfish terms. And you know, our Leader tells us in the Christian Science textbook that “selfishness does not appear in the practice of Truth or Christian Science.” I hope you will not think of me as repetitious in emphasizing again and again that we cannot be healthy, and happy, and prosperous, successful and peaceful in spite of the evils round about us, or in spite of the shortcomings of others, or the imperfections of others. We can only find our own kingdom of heaven as we see everyone else there also. You can all do some good decent housecleaning on that subject, and I mean it. Really believe in the omnipresence of God, Immanuel — God with us.
We know that our Saviour, our Christ, is Immanuel, God with us. We also know for instance, that God is divine Mind. Is this same mind which was also in Christ Jesus with all of you today? Was it with you yesterday? And will it be with you tomorrow? We know that divine Mind expresses itself in right and positive thoughts. Is such thinking with you always? Are you ever tempted to think negatively? In other words, is mortal mind ever with any of you?
I was recently in the home of a dear one and heard much talk about what mortal mind wants to do; and I just could not help but think — well now, wait a minute, what’s present with us and with others? What is it — mortal mind running all around doing all kinds of things? Is divine Mind present with you and with everyone? Mortal mind is the suppositional absence of divine, inspired thinking. Let’s face reality. Divine Mind is omnipresent, and there can never be any absence of omnipresence.
We must beware of certain Bible passages which would seem to deny the omnipresence of God as divine Mind. Paul once wrote, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” What do you think of that passage? It is the lie, the false claim that has to be handled, but it is not the truth. And we must be through with that kind of talk. People say, “When I give a testimony then boy the devil just pulls at my coat tail afterwards.” That’s a lie! When is evil present with you? Never present! And why is evil never present? Because God is ever present.
This statement of Paul’s is not the law of God, but the false law to be denied and repudiated with the truth that the divine Mind is omnipresent. This of course is not a statement of truth, but a lie, a false claim, that needs to be vigorously denied. Evil is never with us at any time, and especially not when we would do good.
Just a verse or two before this Paul said, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Mrs. Eddy handled, denied, and reversed this lie which would state that evil is present. You will find this beautiful passage on page 251 of Miscellaneous Writings. She says, “Think of this inheritance! Heaven right here, where angels are as men, clothed more lightly, and men as angels who, burdened for an hour, spring into liberty, and the good they would do, that they do, and the evil they would not do, that they do not.” Mrs. Eddy didn’t just take that literal statement from the Bible and say, “Well, the Bible said it, so that’s the way I’m going to have to think.” She saw it as the claim, she handled it. Be sure you’re handling it with the recognition that evil is never present with you under any circumstance.
Paul is presenting the false claim that evil claims to be present, that temptations are present, that mortal mind is present, talking to us. We have to do something about it. We must deny this lie. Evil, mortal mind, false temptations — they are never present. Because God, the one divine Mind is always present.
Many Christian Scientists cling to their old false sense of theology. They believe that evil temptations are present with us, but that we can do something about it. We can resist these temptations. We have heard it said that we are not to blame if a tramp comes and knocks at our door, but we are to blame if we go a-tramping with him. Now what do you think about that statement? This is not an acknowledgement of the omnipresence of God or good. Don’t be an old orthodox saying “Well, the temptations of evil come to me, but I resist them and I fight them off, and I get rid of them.” “The curse causeless shall not come,” says the proverb. Stop thinking that there is such a thing as mortal mind that comes knocking at your door with discouragement, or disease, or unhappiness, or apathy, or anything. What is it that comes knocking at your door? The divine presence, the Christ, is forever knocking at your door. You open the door and he comes in and sups with you, and you with the Christ. Sometimes they put it this way: The suggestions of error would claim admittance into our consciousness. We must deny them, repudiate them. Mrs. Eddy did not teach that evil temptations are always with us. She once gave her household this simple prayer. It runs something like this: “Since there is only one divine Mind, there is no other mind that can tempt me, harm me, or influence me. I spiritually understand this fact and am master of the occasion.” You will note that she did not even admit that there was a mortal mind present that could tempt her; for the only presence there is is the presence of the divine Mind. How often we should hear the words that Moses heard — “My presence (the presence of divine mind) shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
Whenever you think in terms of frustration, saying “I don’t know what to do, or I don’t know where to go, or I don’t know how to do it,” you are of course denying the omnipresence of the one divine, inspiring, guiding Mind. You are thinking of course in terms of the absence of Mind instead of the presence of Mind.
And of course, you can’t think in terms of the absence of Mind and the presence of Mind at the same time, can you? You must handle this argument of frustration vigorously in your own experience and that of many patients. We are not ignorant mortals, groping around in the dark, trying to find peace and harmony, the kingdom of heaven — we are immortal ideas of the one divine Mind, inspired by this Mind to see and experience heaven, harmony, right here and now.
We know that our Christ, our Saviour, is Immanuel, God with us. We know also that God is Truth. Therefore, our Christ is Truth with us. Now I ask you, is Truth with all of you? And you all with Truth? Are you at one with Truth? Can you say with our Master, “I am a man who told you the truth?” Or, “I am a man who is the very expression of Truth?” What is with you — error or Truth? Do you ever tell falsehoods? Do you ever tell lies about yourself? Or about someone else? Even such lies as, “I am discouraged, I am blue today, or I am limited. Or, I am sick, or I am afraid, or I am worried?” All such lies are falsehoods about you, about man. Do you ever make mistakes? Did you ever make a mistake? To believe that we make mistakes is to deny the omnipresence of Truth.
In the words of our Leader, “Do we have more faith in the truth of being than we have in error?” We know that the truth of being means that being is good is perfect, harmonious, and free in every way. Are all of you thinking that your being, your existence is perfect, harmonious, and free in every way? Then you are thinking the truth of being, aren’t you? And you are having more faith in the truth of being than you have in error. Is this truth of being with you always? How many of you folks indulge in error? Isn’t error ever with you? Our Leader says, “In truth there is no error, all is truth.” So how can error be with you when Truth is omnipresent and is all? May I reemphasize the fact that we are not entertaining the Christ when we think of Truth as being with me, and thinking of error as in our neighbor, or in those other church members. The Christ includes the recognition of the omnipresence of truth, omnipresent with everyone. Do you think that Truth is present with the Russians? Is truth with the Chinese? The Moslems? The Jews? The colored people? Are you mentally picturing error as with any of these groups? Our Christ, our Immanuel, demands that we see Truth as with everyone. Our Leader tells us that it is “Truth’s knowledge of its own infinitude which forbids the genuine existence of even a claim to error.” May I emphasize once again what we emphasized in class — “Moreover, Truth is real, and error is unreal. This last statement contains the point you will most reluctantly admit, although first and last it is the most important to understand.” (Science and Health, page 466) We can’t make much progress when we think that both Truth and error are with us, or with others. We need to admit wholeheartedly that Truth is real. In other words, Truth exists, and that error is unreal — it is non-existent, it is not with you, it is not with members of your family, or with your neighbor, or with our government, or with our friends across the sea. Our Leader tells us that in Truth there is no error, all is Truth. Truth alone is present.
Since your Christ is God with us, this means Soul with us. What do you know then about material sense? How many of you are troubled with material sense testimony now and then? What is it that’s with you always? Soul or material sense? Of course, material sense is absent; for if light is with us darkness is not with us. It is absent.
On page 10 of Pulpit and Press our Leader says: “Divine presence, breathe Thou Thy blessing on every heart in this house. Speak out, O soul!” Is Soul speaking out to all of you? Is the divine presence breathing a blessing on every heart in this house? What kind of a sense of things do you folks have today? How many of you have a heavy sense of things? What do you have — a spiritual outlook, a spiritual sense of being? Of course, you do — a buoyant sense, an uplifted sense, an unlimited sense, a Soul sense. Are you truly acknowledging that Soul is with you? How many are admitting that Soul is with us — all of us? Let’s entertain the Christ. Let’s admit that Soul is with us. I am glad you see this point, that the Christ is not Soul with me, but is Immanuel — Soul with us. Ask yourself this question: Am I seeing Soul with my neighbor across the street, with the children playing out in the yard? Are you seeing Soul as with your husband, with your wife? Are you seeing Soul with your employer, with the readers in your church, with everyone everywhere? Are you rejoicing that Soul is speaking out, breathing its divine presence everywhere in the heart of everyone throughout the universe? In that kind of thinking you find your Christ — the Christ that healeth all thy diseases and forgiveth all thine iniquities.
I want to say just here that I am certainly grateful that as I go about the lecture schedule to have many people in the churches tell me how grateful they are for you — members of my association. They say that you are about the happiest bunch they have run into, you’re about the peppiest bunch, the most enthusiastic good church workers, and all that. And I am hearing a little, and I want to hear more, that you are the kind of people that see God as with everyone, and I don’t want to hear from anybody that you’re the kind of individuals that think that you’ve got the answers, but you are not sure that other members of the church or community have got the answers. Christ is Immanuel, Soul, Mind, God with every member of that church or that community, or that family.
How many of you are moved with compassion today? Are you acknowledging the presence of divine, infinite, unlimited Love, without reservation? Therein is your Saviour. When Mrs. Eddy was asked the best way to do instantaneous healing work, you will remember she said, “It is to love, just live love, be it. Love, love, love. Do not know anything but love. Be all love.” She said, that there is nothing else that will do the work. “It will heal everything. It will raise the dead. Be nothing but love.” She could not have put it more clearly that our Saviour is found in the recognition of Love with us. And don’t any of you let me hear you saying, “Well, I love my patient, but that patient doesn’t have very much love in his consciousness.” Right there what have you done with the Christ? You have slammed the door on him, haven’t you? Don’t do it. Open it up, and have Love with us. That’s our Christ. Not a limited, finite sense of Love, but divine unlimited universal Love. Mrs. Eddy tells us that universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science. If we are to entertain our Saviour, we must declare times without number every day that compassion is with us, and compassion and tenderness is with everybody else. We must not only declare it, we must believe it and know it and understand it. We are shutting out the Christ when we entertain dislike for people, places, and things. And we are shutting out the Christ even more when we think that other people have dislike for persons, places, and things.
A very good friend of mine, a consecrated Christian Scientist, told me this experience recently. He was desirous of demonstrating Christian Science in the very minute things in his daily life and experience, and he looked over his thinking and found that he’d had some disagreements with another real estate man some years before he went into practice, who had done some dishonorable things, and so he wanted to get that all straightened up. And so he was going to go to this man and tell him that he was forgiving him of all the things that he had done wrong, and was going to forget them. But how to do that. That was kind of a ticklish thing, you know. So he turned to that week’s lesson and he found the statement that we should ask other people to forgive us. He thought, “Well I can’t do that, I haven’t done anything wrong.” And so he went on praying a little while, and then he again came back to the same Bible passage. So he went in to see the man, and said, “I came to ask your forgiveness.” The man looked at him and said, “What have you done?” “Well,” he said, “I haven’t done anything, but I want to ask your forgiveness because I have thought some very mean, hard, and unlovely thoughts about you.” The other fellow was kind of embarrassed, and said, “Well, we all make mistakes.” “I know,” he said, “but I really am ashamed of myself as a Christian Scientist that I should think such thoughts about you, and I have come to ask you to forgive me.” The other one said, “O.K. I’ll forgive you.” He thanked him and went away rejoicing.
The following week this business man called him and said he wanted him to come into the office. So he went to the office and he said, “You know that piece of property we owned down near the edge of the city and wasn’t worth anything a few years ago? It was going to be sold for taxes and I paid the taxes on it. Well, they are going to put a highway through down there now and they want to buy that property. I want you to sign these papers here for me, and I will give you half of it.” The friend said, “You don’t have to, you paid the taxes on it. Why should you give it to me?” He said, “Well, I want to give it to you, now you sign these papers.” So he signed them and in a couple of weeks he got a check for several thousand dollars. It even paid, didn’t it? Now you see, if he had gone to that man and said, “I forgive you for all the things you’ve done that are wrong,” that wouldn’t have healed anything would it? There wouldn’t have been any Christ there would there? Because you see the friend would have been saying the individual was a naughty boy and I know it, and I am a big man, a magnanimous individual and I forgive you. Would that have healed the situation? But as soon as he began to entertain the Christ, Love with us, and said, “I’m asking you to forgive me my shortcomings,” it healed the situation. Friends, that’s so important. Forgive others, but be willing also to ask other forgiveness of you. It will heal a whole lot more.
I hope you will all be as sincere and conscientious as this Science friend of mine. There is so much along these lines of healing in the clearing up of relationships that all of us can do, and we’ll do so much healthier and happier work when we completely clean these things up. I hope you’ll go home and really search your consciousness and find ways and means of acknowledging the omnipresence of Love — not only with you, but with everybody. Since Love is with us discord is never with us. Criticism and fault finding are not in our makeup. Since Love is omnipresent, crabbedness, ingratitude, jealousy and envy, are never present. Now since God is Love and God is omnipresent, this fact cannot be changed. It is only our acknowledgement of the omnipresence of Love that brings us true peace and harmony.
Did you bring your material body to this association, or did it bring you? Are you thinking about yourself as sitting on a material seat? Paul tells us that we should be absent from the body and present with the Lord, present with Spirit. What he is really saying is that Spirit is omnipresent, and matter is completely absent. Paul also said that if we live in the Spirit we must also walk in the Spirit. When you walk you walk in divine consciousness, you walk with Love along the way. You do not walk in matter, in bones, in feet, in muscles. John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” and then wonderful things unfolded in his consciousness, and in his experience, as related in the book of Revelation. Are you in the Spirit on the Lord’s day on the Sabbath? Are you in the Spirit on this association day? That’s the only place to be, isn’t it? Paul meant: Are you thinking in terms of spiritual values, or in terms of material things and objects? Your Saviour, your Messiah, your Christ, is never found in material things. It’s never found in material medicine or operations, in money, or in material things. Your Saviour is Spirit with us. If we are to find and to entertain our Saviour we cannot do so by thinking in terms of matter and materiality, but only by thinking in terms of Spirit and true spirituality. Paul wrote to Timothy: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” He went on to say, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” Paul was telling Timothy what Christian Science is telling us today, that Spirit is ever present, and that matter is therefore nothing and never present. Christian Science is encouraging us as Paul encouraged Timothy, to be so busy, so thorough in acknowledging the presence of Spirit, that matter and materiality mean nothing to us. Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” What he was talking about of course is that the use of spiritual means to accomplish material ends is no good.
How many of you are always thinking in terms of the ever-presence of Life? There is our Saviour, Life with us. Christian Science is helping us never to speculate in terms of the possibility of the absence of Life. Have any of you speculated on the time when death is going to come to you? Are any of you thinking about the possibility of the absence of Life and the presence of death? That certainly would be irreverence, wouldn’t it? Do you ever think in terms of the possibility of death with us? Maybe not with you, but death with your mother, or father, or husband, or wife, or loved ones, or someone dear? Oh, I want to tell you truthfully, that we as Christian Scientists can do a lot more holy thinking on this line, a lot more pure thinking, a lot more Scientific and positive thinking. God is Life and Life is ever-present. And the very moment that Christian Scientists spend more time in rejoicing in the omnipresence of Life and less time speculating on the possibility of the absence of Life for themselves or for a loved one, right then and there you will find them overcoming this illusion called death. Our Leader tells us in Unity of Good: “Because God is ever present, no boundary or time can separate us from Him, and the heaven of His presence; and because God is Life, all Life is eternal.” She says further that, “Life, God, being everywhere, it must follow that death can be nowhere; because there is no place left for it.” Stop speculating on the probability of the absence of Life. There can be no absence of omnipresence. There can be no absence of Life. Let’s rejoice time without number every day — “One thing I know, that is I’m alive, and that I always will be alive, because there never can be any absence of the omnipresence of Life.”
Is Principle with all of you? Even that divine Principle that produces harmony and order and freedom and dominion? Is there every any absence of Principle in your life? Our Life is found in Immanuel, Principle with us. Even the one divine Principle that motivates every function of our being and controls every event of our careers, that literally produces, causes, and reveals infinite harmony in every phase of our experience. Principle is never absent, it is always with us, guiding, guarding, protecting, and maintaining. But let us remember that Christ is not Principle with me. It’s Principle with us, with every citizen of the United States, with every citizen of Russia, China, and the citizens of the world. We are literally crucifying our Christ when we speculate and talk about the absence of Principle in the world, aren’t we? Let’s not do it. Principle is present, omnipresent in the hearts of everyone.
Now we come to a very practical application of this idea of Immanuel, God with us. There is a Bible passage that I never used to like very well. It went something like this: “Unto him that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” I sort of thought that was a dirty trick. But then one day I began to see the very practical significance of this teaching of the Master. He certainly meant that the man who appreciated the good that he has will find good appreciate, grow, expand, multiply. You know when you have a piece of property you talk about the appreciation of that property — it goes up in value. Now if you want the good that you have to go up in value you need to begin to appreciate that good. And if you appreciate the omnipresence of good, the good that you have, it will appreciate. In other words, if we think in terms of the presence of God, if we rejoice in the omnipresence, and never speculate on the possibility of His absence, we will find then that good will continue to unfold in our experience day after day. But on the other hand, if we speculate on the possibility of the absence of divine Mind, the absence of Life, the absence of good, then we are truly standing in awe of the possibility of the absence of good, then we are fearful. And what we fear comes upon us.
Let’s make some practical applications of this idea. Business men would like to have business grow. What do you have to do? You have to appreciate the business you have. If you will really appreciate it, if you really are grateful for it and see that it comes from God, good, it will appreciate. If you depreciate the business that you have and go on talking about this recession or something like that, then it starts to depreciate. Some of you heard me tell the experience of this friend who opened a restaurant and they needed about two hundred customers a day to make a profit, and they only had one hundred customers coming. They tried to do everything they could to increase the customers, but they never increased. Then one day I was talking to them and I said if you will really appreciate the customers that you have then they will increase. I said that I had a kind of feeling that when one customer comes in the door you say to yourself, “Why didn’t you bring your brother along,” instead of being grateful for the one that’s there. They began to appreciate the customers that they had, and in a very short time the business had doubled.
If any of you husbands have a wife that you don’t think measures up to the way you’d like to have her be, there’s only one thing for you to do and that is to appreciate the spiritual qualities that your wife expresses. And if you’ll really appreciate them and show that appreciation to your wife for her efforts at cooking, or house cleaning, or whatever she does, and appreciate the good that she embodies, you will find that these qualities appreciate, they grow, and the little woman bends over backwards to be the kind of a cook and a housewife that you would like her to be. And of course, it works exactly the other way too. If any of you wives would like a husband who measures up to your ideal, you can have him awfully fast, can’t you? What do you have to do to have that kind of husband? You have to appreciate the spiritual qualities of God that he embodies. And if you really appreciate that man that God has created, I’ll tell you he will bend over backwards to be just that way.
Never think or speculate on the possibility of the absence of good. This is irreverence. Constantly rejoice in the omnipresence of God with you and with everyone. This brings true success, for this is divine worship. Never think in terms of what you have not, for this is thinking in terms of the absence of God or good. Always rejoice in what you have, for this is thinking in terms of the presence of good with you and with everyone. Never feel unhappy about the friends that you don’t have. You know, that’s a good way to lose the friends that you have, isn’t it? Let’s be appreciative of the friends that we have, and then we’ll find that out friendships will grow. Never depreciate the supply that you have. The Shunammite woman was depreciating what she had. And as she appreciated it it appreciated and grew, and their needs were all met.
When Jesus was about to feed the five thousand and asked his disciples what they had, you remember how the disciples depreciated their supply, didn’t they? But the Master appreciated it and expressed thanks, and everybody had enough to eat and basketsful left over. He didn’t just feed one — he fed everyone.
Just before giving the illustration of “Unto him that hath shall be given, but from him that hath not shall be taken away that which he hath,” Jesus told a short parable. One man was given five talents; another two; and another one. The one who had five appreciated his talents. He made good use of them and they multiplied, and he had ten talents. And the one who had two talents appreciated his two talents, made use of them, and they multiplied until he had four talents. But the one who had only one talent buried it — he depreciated it as it were. Instead of rejoicing in the one wonderful talent he had, he thought in terms of lack of talents, and before long that one talent was taken away from him. Why? Because he didn’t appreciate it. It is on this basis that we apply Christian Science in healing sickness and all sorts of problems. As Christian Scientists we truly think in terms of the everywhere presence of God, good, expressed through health, abundance, and harmony. We rejoice in the talent of health that we have, the talent of supply that we have, and thus we see it as eternal and substantial. In practicing our religion we help our patients to keep their thought stayed on the beautiful, the good, and the true, that these may come into their experience. We help people to think in terms of the omnipresence of Spirit, Soul, and Principle. And as we think in these terms of course we see the nothingness of everything unlike God or His infinite goodness.
