In a Christian Science lecture in the mid-1960s, I heard the speaker make a statement of truth and then add dryly, “I’m sure we all know someone who needs to hear that!” Laughter from the audience greeted this comment.
Isn’t that always the temptation—to tell someone else what to think or do? I love the anecdote about a Christian Science couple taking a drive in the country. There was a lot of backseat driving going on. Finally the long-suffering husband said from the driver’s seat, “You know, dear, there is only one Mind.” She replied: “I know that. And that Mind is telling me what to tell you!”
When we encounter situations where we feel tempted to correct another person’s thinking or behavior, it’s worth remembering a verse from the book of Matthew: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (7:5). I have seen the wisdom of this proved in my own experience.
