AVis Hofstad, Princeton
The Golden Rule acts as a beacon to peace and universal goodness that is so needed in the world today. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all would treat each other with the same affection and respect with which we would like to be treated? What an inspiring goal for us all.
This is easier to say than to do, as the following story illustrates.
Two young children were sitting at the kitchen table watching their mother, waiting for the first waffle to come off the waffle maker. An argument started about who would be first. Thinking this was a good time to teach a lesson, the mother said, “If you were Jesus, you would put your brother’s needs ahead of your own and want him to be first.“ The two boys were silent for a while, then the older said to the younger, “OK..YOU be Jesus.“
Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Healer and Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science wrote, “O for the Golden Rule to actuate our everyday life.” To me, this applies not only to our actions, but to our thoughts of others — thinking of others as we would have them think of us. It starts with understanding God as one infinite Mind or Love, and everyone as made in His likeness, as is promised in the first chapter of Genesis. I’ve found that thinking of everyone as a child or likeness of God enables us to obey the Golden Rule and also brings health and healing.
For example, a couple of years ago I noticed that there was a wart on my finger — and then another. My daughter, who was pregnant with twins at the time, told me to “get rid of them before the babies arrive.”
When it became evident that the warts were increasing, I went to my Bible, and with the help of Eddy’s book, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” began to study and pray for healing. I also called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me. She reminded me that I was God’s beloved child and that He is good and All in all. I prayed and started to claim my oneness with God as His image and likeness, as is promised in Genesis. I became more diligent in watching my thinking, allowing only God-like thoughts to occupy my consciousness.
As I became more conscious of the Golden Rule, to think of others as I would like to be seen, I began to look for the good in others and replace reactive thoughts of resentment, irritation, indignation, and fault-finding by responding with love toward others and be less critical of myself. My anxiety about the warts diminished. By the time my grandchildren were about a month old, the warts had completely disappeared.
Can you imagine what healing would come to fearful, angry, desperate and broken hearts with the outpouring of love that would come when everyone in the world would be thinking of everyone — their family, neighbors, church members, their country’s leaders and the world community as all loving each other with unconditional love, as God loves His children?
This would naturally fulfill the Golden Rule, heal hearts and lead each of us to treat one another as we would like to be treated. It is possible that Peace in the world. might come through universal actuation of The Golden Rule.
“All things are possible to God.”
Avis Hofstad, First Church of Christ,Scientist, Princeton .
