We always want to take the high road. But let’s face it—sometimes the actions of another person or group seem to affect us adversely. We might find ourselves thinking if only we were more articulate or had more power and influence on our side, then what we want would prevail. Or we might even be tempted to strike back. If we entertain either of these thoughts, we open the door to human will.
Mary Baker Eddy writes: “Human will is an animal propensity, not a faculty of Soul. Hence it cannot govern man aright. … Will—blind, stubborn, and headlong—cooperates with appetite and passion. From this cooperation arises its evil” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 490). Her strong statement is clear.
The Bible provides an example of what could have happened if human will had been allowed to govern. The Gospel of Luke records that Jesus requested lodging for himself and his disciples in a Samaritan village (see Luke 9:51–56). He’d been in Samaritan villages before, but this one refused him hospitality. Two of his disciples, James and John, took great offense at this disrespect. Didn’t Jesus’ life and work deserve better treatment from those Samaritans? Was it right that the town so unkindly reward Jesus’ unselfish love, his demonstrated willingness to heal and save? It would be easy to sympathize with these two loyal men.
James and John rightly identified the Samaritans’ snub as a rejection of the Christ-message Jesus offered. But they did not turn to God for guidance about how to best deal with the village’s attitude. Instead, they yielded to human will. And that willfulness—“blind, stubborn, and headlong”—aroused anger and revenge in these two disciples. The result—predictably—was evil. They thought fire should be called down from heaven to consume the village.
Fortunately for the Samaritans, their request was denied. The Bible reports that Jesus rebuked the disciples, saying, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” One possible way to understand that statement is, “You are not masters of men, but servants of God. If you knew the Spirit of which you were created, you would exercise your God-given dominion over the temptation to react. You would refuse to see the Samaritans as adversaries and instead strive to see them as God sees them—as your loved and loving brethren.”
Spiritual dominion springs from the recognition of the actual presence, right here and now, of divine Love, Truth.
Admittedly, not an easy task. But Christian Science teaches that right action comes by recognizing the powerlessness of sin and the forever reality of God’s government—a government that is wholly good, leaving no room for evil of any sort. Human will, on the other hand, tries to claim the opposite—that there is more than the one divine Mind, more than one power, and that at any given moment at least some of these minds and powers are in conflict with each other.
The disciples’ extreme reaction to the town’s rebuff is a lesson for today—what can happen if we allow ourselves to be governed by human will. In this day and age, hopefully we wouldn’t be tempted to ask that “heavenly fire” actually burn the town down. But giving in to human will might tempt us into “flaming” the town on Facebook!
Jesus’ rebuke to the disciples, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of,” leads naturally to the question: So of what manner of spirit are we? The Bible says man is made in God’s image and likeness and has dominion over all the earth (see Genesis 1:26, 27). It also assures us that God is Love (see I John 4:8). If God is Love, and man is God’s image and likeness, then man must be the expression of that pure Love. It’s not possible for one expression of Love to be in conflict with another.
Holding to this truth helps us find healing and protection. More than once, when mobs were intent on killing Jesus, he walked right through them unharmed (see Luke 4:28–30; John 8:58, 59; 10:31–40). How did he do that? He was obedient to God’s will. He recognized Love’s dominion, not any domination by the mob. Jesus refused to be afraid of the shouting rabble—he didn’t have to change the thinking of the mob in order to be safe. He needed only to recognize himself as “under the control of God, spiritual and immortal Mind” (Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 37).
Our Master’s example clearly demonstrates the difference between willpower and dominion. Willpower can be thought of as thought or action based on a false concept of ourselves as
having a mind apart from God. Spiritual dominion, on the other hand, springs from the recognition of the actual presence, right here and now, of divine Love, Truth. Yielding ourselves to God’s will never endangers us or deprives us of any truly good thing, but opens us up to the blessings divine Love is pouring out on us. Moreover, yielding to God’s will enables us actively to bless our fellow man, even those who might want to dominate or harm us.
We might conclude from the writings later attributed to James and John—those two disciples who wanted heavenly fire to burn down a village—that they learned well the lesson Jesus taught them. James is quoted as saying, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). In other words, true prayer doesn’t tell God what needs to be done. True prayer sets aside human will and accepts God’s dominion. And from John came the words, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God” (I John 4:7). What a wonderful reversal of the initial cry for revenge and retribution!
The vital lesson Jesus taught James and John teaches us today how to handle any conflict that may arise with an employer, family member, friend, or fellow church member. When we refuse to acknowledge any power but God, Spirit, we cannot be controlled by anything else. We cannot be forced to think or do anything wrong—and if we are led to act, we are led to act rightly.
As Jesus was enabled to walk unseen through the mob, so a way is opened for us to walk untouched through human circumstances seeking to dominate us. Conversely, we cannot be tempted to dominate others. When we understand that the problem is never another person, but the lie of a mind apart from God, we find that nothing can interfere with our usefulness, prevent our right action, or cause us to suffer.
Growing in our understanding of true dominion, we find ourselves, like James and John, increasingly expressing that dominion.
