HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW, in everyday life, there often seems to be a push on people to be conventional, to conform?
The pressure to think exactly as everyone else thinks is so prevalent that it's sometimes amusing. People come from such different backgrounds, yet we often wear similar fashions in clothing, speak the same way, and do the same things. The coercion is usually unspoken. Yet, as you've probably experienced, such pressure can have a lot of influence. It can be a general, cultural pressure to agree on what is important in life and on what constitutes success.
There is pressure to conform when it comes to religion, as well. Religion comes in and out of style just like anything else. At times it is fashionable to be religious, even fervently religious. Other times it can be unfashionable even to believe in God. And to be so religious as to state that one's identity is completely spiritual is more than just unusual — some people see it as unfashionably ridiculous. The concept of ourselves as a physical shell with some spiritual aspects intermixed, well sure. There is general approval for that sort of view. But God's creation being entirely spiritual — made of the substance of divine thought — that's something else altogether.
The Bible says, "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." I Pet 2:9. One way to define the word peculiar is "atypical." To be atypical isn't altogether a bad thing. To be different or nonconforming can sometimes be a great strength. The desire for something different is the foundation upon which progress is often made. Mary Baker Eddy commented, "To obey the Scriptural command, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate,' is to incur society's frown; but this frown, more than flatteries, enables one to be Christian." Science and Health, p. 238.
Jesus' example demonstrates the great joy that comes from thinking differently. He was definitely atypical. Where the average person saw sin and sickness, Jesus went further and beheld God's perfect, spiritual offspring — the true creation, in other words—and that brought healing. He wasn't just different for the sake of being different. He aligned his thoughts with Truth, and this "alignment" brought about healing. There was never a moment when he allowed the world to determine what he believed. Instead, each day, he got his direction from God; he was about his Father's business—he wasn't swayed even slightly by society's pressure to conform. There is nothing more important in world history than Jesus' message and example. He had only one authority—God—and as a result of being so atypical, he helped and healed thousands.
Mary Baker Eddy, the remarkably insightful woman who gave Christian Science to the world, also lived every day thinking for herself. From reading about her life, I've concluded that she hoped people today would think very much for themselves, too. She wrote: "Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate. They must renounce aggression, oppression and the pride of power. Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen of life." Ibid., p. 451.
The mockery of primitive Christianity, even though not always spoken aloud, can seem to have a subtle effect on us, if we let it. It may make us reticent to share scientific Christianity with another. Or, when we pray, we might sometimes find ourselves feeling overly worried or unsure — even though there may be no logic behind our concern at all. We may hear ourselves thinking, "I've always prayed for myself, but recently I don't feel inspired at all." Or, "I know that turning to God in prayer heals, but I don't know if it can heal me." Or even, "The power of God certainly can heal me. I just wish I knew enough to pray effectively."
It is interesting how often these suggestions appear to us subtly, as our own thoughts. We hear depressing sentences streaming by that include the words, "I," "me," and "my." We don't hear, "You just don't understand," but I just don't understand." We don't hear, "You aren't inspired lately," but "I'm not inspired lately." It may seem to be our own thought, but it's not. It's just an echo of what the world commonly accepts as true. Clearly, it is vital to keep watch over our prayers and feelings. Whenever you're praying and get the debilitating feeling that you're going to be beaten, be aware that much of the world jeers at the idea that there is a God, that you are the spiritual creation of God, that prayer heals. Address such mockery by identifying and exposing it immediately. "Error found out is two-thirds destroyed," Mrs. Eddy said, "and the last third pierces itself, for the remainder only stimulates and gives scope to higher demonstration." Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 355.
The generally held belief that people are material and that only matter is intelligent is an imposition on the public. It's a mistaken view that, if accepted, aggressively suggests that we lack inspiration because we're separate from God. Throughout the world, so many people don't just disregard, but ridicule the whole idea of doing something like turning to God in prayer for healing! But following Jesus' example, we can be atypical enough to see that creation is actually spiritual, reflecting the immeasurable goodness of God. We don't need to roll over and accept a lie just because everyone else does. All the opinions in the world can't change the fact that man and woman are at one with God and are, therefore, spiritual.
We can conform to the world on many things, but we don't ever need to be influenced to abandon original Christianity. And nothing should keep us from sharing it, either.
To perceive spiritual reality tangibly is possible now. In daily life, it can become normal to recognize the expression of God all around you. Turn from the world and turn to God, your divine Mind, and ask yourself, "What am I seeing? What do I know?" Challenge yourself to recognize your fellow man spiritually, to see him through God's eyes, so to speak. And do it for yourself, too. Rejoice in God's, divine Mind's, conception. A comment from Mary Baker Eddy: "All that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire being is found harmonious and eternal. The straight and narrow way is to see and acknowledge this fact, yield to this power, and follow the leadings of truth." Science and Health, p. 151.
What an insight! The entire being, "the divine Mind and its idea," is what is really present. Some individuals may jeer at such a declaration, but mockery has never tainted any timeless truth. Humbly, quietly, people everywhere have the opportunity to recognize that God exists and that prayer heals. If you are one who is doing so, that doesn't necessarily put you in the minority. Why? Because real authority is found in the nature of God, and you can ally yourself with it. Since God is supreme, one with God isn't just a majority; one with God is a monopoly.
We can conform to the world on many things, but we don't ever need to be influenced to abandon original Christianity. And nothing should keep us from sharing it, either. To live life knowing that we are God's expression, that we each are the proof that God is present, may seem peculiar—but peculiar in a wonderful way. Many people you meet in daily life are not yet thinking in such terms. But it can start with you. Don't wait for the world around you to get used to the fact that you are atypical. Not many people ever got used to Jesus' radical commitment to God. But it made all the difference in his time. And it's doing the same in ours. 
