Christ Jesus called on his followers to be proactive. Instead of their wishing others would behave better toward them, he called on them to take the initiative and behave better toward others. He said, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). In Christian Science, where prayer is understood to be thought, this rule applies specifically to how we think toward others, rather than wishing they would think differently—or worse yet, trying to manipulate their thinking.
In The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “The rule of mental practice in Christian Science is strictly to handle no other mentality but the mind of your patient, and treat this mind to be Christly. Any departure from this golden rule is inadmissible” (p. 364).
In an article titled “Obtrusive Mental Healing” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 282–284) Mrs. Eddy makes clear that one has no more right to intrude on another’s thought without his or her consent than “to enter a house, unlock the desk, displace the furniture, and suit one’s self in the arrangement and management of another man’s property” (p. 283). She mentions a couple of possible exceptions, including “a case from accident, when there is no time for ceremony and no other aid is near” (p. 282), but concludes that “any exception to the old wholesome rule, ‘Mind your own business,’ is rare” (p. 283).
