The woman in front of me at our little local grocery store was buying several bags of a gourmet food item.
“That looks good,” I told her.
“They’re amazing,” she said enthusiastically. “Have you had one?”
“No,” I replied, “but I’m thinking of buying one.” She quickly handed me one of the bags she had just bought.
“That’s so nice of you, but I don’t want to take yours. I’ll go get one for myself,” I offered.
“You can’t,” she explained. “I bought them all. Just take this and say, ‘Thank you!’ ”
“Thank you!” I exclaimed. I left the store with joy, gratitude, and a desire to pay her kindness forward.
On the way home, the following Bible verse popped into my head: “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). I’d intended to express my gratitude by “paying it forward”—initiating another random act of kindness. But this Bible verse showed me that I could also “pray” it forward—by expressing God’s all-inclusive love.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, instructs her students to “keep yourselves busy with divine Love. Then you will be toilers like the bee, always distributing sweet things which, if bitter to sense, will be salutary as Soul;…” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 252).
There are countless ways Christian Scientists can distribute “sweet things.” For example, we can write articles for the Christian Science periodicals, or we can help circulate the periodicals by sharing them with family, friends, and the community.
Wednesday church meetings provide time to share “experiences, testimonies, and remarks on Christian Science” (Mary Baker Eddy, Church Manual, p. 122). Giving a testimony is another excellent way to “pray it forward” by sharing “sweet things.” I’ve often benefited from insights offered by members of the congregation.
Rather than leaving my job, I resolved to apply the law of Love.
I remember one testimony that transformed my unhappy work environment. I had a new boss who seemed intelligent and talented, but prone to exaggeration and dishonesty. I was disheartened by the lack of integrity in the workplace, and as I headed to church one night, I wondered whether I should look for another job.
I found my answer in one of the testimonies. A member of the congregation shared how she’d given a few of her family members spiritual nicknames—such as “Free and Fearless” and “Cared for Watched over Beloved and Protected.” She would recognize each relative’s true, spiritual nature before conversing with him or her.
I appreciated this inspired approach to seeing our fellow man, and I decided to apply it to my own situation. Rather than leaving my job, I resolved to apply the law of Love. St. Paul tells us that “love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Mrs. Eddy echoed this sentiment when she wrote: “We should measure our love for God by our love for man; and our sense of Science will be measured by our obedience to God,—fulfilling the law of Love, doing good to all; imparting, so far as we reflect them, Truth, Life, and Love to all within the radius of our atmosphere of thought” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 12).
I knew I had to work harder to love my boss. I humbly turned to God: “Dear Father, I know You don’t see any of Your children as deceitful or untrustworthy—so I’m going to quit seeing my boss that way. Please tell me how You see her.” As I listened for a response, the words “Truth’s honest child” came to me. I recognized these words from Hymn 382 in the Christian Science Hymnal. The whole verse reads:
Thou art Truth’s honest child,
Of pure and sinless heart;
Thou treadest undefiled
In Christly paths apart.
(Emily F. Seal)
I wanted to be obedient to God, but I was a little daunted by this answer. How was I ever going to view my boss as “Truth’s honest child”? The human evidence screamed that the opposite was true. In her Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy points out that “if God is upright and eternal, man as His likeness is erect in goodness and perpetual in Life, Truth, and Love” (p. 79). She doesn’t say some people are “erect in goodness” and perpetual in Truth—while others are lost causes. Her statement refers to the true identity of everyone.
“OK, God,” I conceded. “I will see my boss as ‘Truth’s honest child.’ ” I realized I needed to give up seeing my boss as a human personality with good qualities and bad qualities, and instead perceive and affirm her divine nature. I stopped labeling her as a liar and prayed to see her uncontaminated, spiritual identity as Truth’s honest child.
Vigilant prayer helped me uplift my thought. If I heard something in a meeting that seemed erroneous, I no longer became frustrated and annoyed. I would simply begin claiming that nothing could eclipse the Truth. I’d write down all the synonyms for Truth as the meeting continued, and I held firm.
I would look at my calendar and think, “Oh good! I have a meeting with Truth’s honest child today.”
Mrs. Eddy tells us in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Truth creates neither a lie, a capacity to lie, nor a liar” (p. 357). When my boss seemed to exaggerate, I would acknowledge that she had a “pure and sinless heart” and could not have the “capacity to lie.”
Often, I would see situations change, but more importantly, I began seeing my boss with much more love. I used to dread the weekly meetings with her. However, once I committed to this spiritualized viewpoint, I would look at my calendar and think, “Oh good! I have a meeting with Truth’s honest child today.”
Mrs. Eddy tells us: “In Christian Science, the law of Love rejoices the heart;...” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 12). I certainly found this to be true! By exercising the law of Love, my dissatisfaction with my job completely dissolved. I felt genuine love for my boss, became closer to several of my colleagues, and once again enjoyed my workplace. I also expanded this loving approach by adding spiritual nicknames into my cellphone. Now when friends and family members call, their spiritual names appear, and I acknowledge each person’s true identity before answering the phone.
Eventually I left that job, moved across the country, and joined a new branch church. One Wednesday night I shared how I’d heard the testimony about spiritual nicknames, and how I applied that idea to heal my relationship with my boss. I was thrilled when a few months later, someone who heard my testimony stood up and shared how she had used this same idea to heal a relationship in her life. What a perfect example of “praying it forward”!
I will continue to appreciate and participate in random acts of kindness—because kindness is beautiful. However, I will also look for every opportunity to “pray it forward,” be a distributor of “sweet things,” and love my fellow man. Love is the greatest gift we can give each other, and as Mrs. Eddy noted, “Nothing is worthy the name of religion save one lowly offering—love” (Miscellany, p. 258).
