They were neck and neck, blading down the ice. There was a chilling verbal exchange between these opponents. As a mother on the proverbial sidelines, I prayed that it wouldn't erupt into a full-blown battle. Someone once defined heaven as a hockey game without a fight. That sounded about right to me at the time.
Our love needs to rest on the supremacy of good.
Later I learned from my son, Luke, that the player on the opposing hockey team had been harassing and taunting him. To defuse the explosive situation, my son had chosen a unique response. He laughed. And he kept laughing until his opponent started laughing, too. End of conflict.
Since then, I've pondered what turned that volatile situation into a peaceable one. Certainly the willingness to express love and not react to evil was important. But I'm seeing another significant element in finding peace on a day-to-day basis. Gradually I'm learning to develop a kind of warrior consciousness when it comes to shielding myself from the apparent forces of evil and protecting my inalienable spiritual rights. A loving attitude is essential. But going deeper, we find that our love needs to rest on a solid foundation, on a resolute refusal to give evil the upper hand—or any hand at all, for that matter! It needs to rest on an understanding of the absolute supremacy of good.
There was a time when I thought that simply by living peace and love, and ignoring the clamor of evil, I would be protected from painful circumstances or harsh attacks. I skipped through life with a song, a smile, and a Pollyanna-like optimism that I felt would shield me from any ambush. Gradually I learned that we've got to suit up with mental armor and weaponry to defend ourselves against hatred, pain, sorrow, anger, sickness, envy—anything that would claim to separate us from God, good, or obscure our natural, Christlike state of thought. The Bible advises us to don "the whole armour of God, that [we] may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." It continues: "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith. ... And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Eph. 6:13-17. The word of God, "sharper than any two-edged sword," See Heb. 4:12. must not be left in the closet!
The loving attributes of truth, righteousness, peace, and faith in God aren't weak. They are armor for battle, because they express the nature of God Himself, the unopposable power of Truth and Love! It's not naive, therefore, to trust these defenses.
The truth is, good is the only truth! God, good, is the only true power. And when we align ourselves with the pure forces of Spirit, with the presence of divine Love, there is simply no contest.
Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Luke 6:27, 28. But he never advocated ignoring evil. His love for mankind was without bounds, and yet his rebuke of wrongdoing was uncompromising.
Faith in God, truth, peace, isn't weak. It's our armor.
So let's get back to that hockey game. My son's laughing response to the nasty remarks of his opponent wasn't an expression of contempt or sarcasm, as I learned from him later. It was a refusal to acknowledge any power in the barbarous remarks. It was truly a "two-edged sword." Peace and love were one edge. And a tenacious determination to stand up to error, seeing only God-given good, was the other.
"The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," is a truly effective weapon as we confront daily challenges. Mary Baker Eddy states, "Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man." Science and Health, p. 393.
Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase.
Righteousness shall go before him;
and shall set us in the way of his steps.
Psalms 85:12, 13
