SEVERAL YEARS AGO THERE WAS a member of our tennis club who was loud, brash, and arrogant. Still, the members of the club were patient, and continued to include him in the round-robin games we played. Then one day his behavior get to be too much for me, and I simply stopped in the middle of a game and stared at him. He was playing three courts away, but still his manner was disruptive to me and to everyone else. The thought that came to me was, "He has a face that only his mother could love." Startled by my strong reaction, I prayed for a more spiritual thought, and it came: "Of course, his true Mother and Father is God. God loves His child, and so can I."
Then this idea from Science and Health occurred to me: "Mortal belief is a liar from the beginning, not deserving power. It says to mortals, 'You are wretched!' and they think they are so; and nothing can change this state, until the belief changes." Science and Health, pp. 296-297. I reasoned that this young man did not have to act out wretchedness, and that I did not have to associate it with him, because it's not real—that is, it's no part of God's creation.
I went on with my game, but continued to think in a more Christian manner. My job was to look beyond the outward appearance to discern this man's true, spiritual individually as the expression of God.
