I once told a friend, “I love to travel, but I don’t take guilt trips.” When someone makes us feel guilty, or if we condemn ourselves, we are focusing on a mistake. We are accepting a mortal concept of ourselves, which Christian Science teaches is erroneous. In truth, we are innocent – God’s spiritual and perfect reflection – and God’s omnipotent care and guidance are ever present with us.
An example of a guilt trip not taken is what happened just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (see John 11). Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha sent a message to him saying that their brother Lazarus was sick, hoping Jesus would come and heal Lazarus right away. But Jesus didn’t come immediately, and when he arrived at their town, Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days.
When Martha spoke to Jesus, she wasn’t trying to lay a guilt trip on him. Her words conveyed her conviction that Jesus could have healed Lazarus, and that she still understood that God would answer each of Jesus’ requests. But they also expressed disappointment that Lazarus had died, potentially eliciting a guilt trip. She said, “If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.”
Instead of reading into Martha’s words a premise that he had done something wrong, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He had been following God’s direction all along. The timing of Jesus’ arrival allowed him to demonstrate his ability to overcome the belief of death, even days after it appeared to have happened. This was a precursor to Jesus’ own resurrection.
Jesus knew who we are – the beloved children of all-loving, omnipotent God. His own relationship with God was unshakable, and he followed God’s unerring direction in every situation. His mission was to give us a clearer understanding of God and to show us that we are made in the divine image and likeness and directed moment by moment by God.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered the Science of the Christ, points out that everyone possesses the Christlike consciousness that is spiritual sense, which she defines as “a conscious, constant capacity to understand God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 209). And she wrote that spiritual sense is “always right” (Science and Health, p. 326). Like Jesus, we each have the opportunity to use our innate spiritual sense at all times and under all circumstances.
I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to see and experience my oneness with God, good, after a massive flood caused by burst water pipes during a freeze destroyed my condo. I initially felt devastated by the alarming pictures my property manager sent me, but then I prayed to feel at peace and to overcome the shock.
Although the property manager tried to make me feel guilty about the flood, I knew that this was an opportunity to demonstrate God’s goodness and care. As I reflected on the situation, I realized that I had made a mistake. I hadn’t known that the heater in the utility closet would be inadequate to protect the pipes in extreme cold, and so I had turned the heat off in my condo. However, while it is important to recognize one’s mistakes, I knew that I could learn from this experience instead of berating myself and feeling guilty.
More profoundly, I knew that allowing myself to feel guilty would, in belief, separate me from the love of God. In truth, God is always with us, and it is only our false beliefs that seem to separate us from God.
I realized that a mental state of self-condemnation would not help me trust Truth, God, so that I could see past the evidence of an accident. Science and Health says, “Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God’s unerring direction and thus bring out harmony” (p. 424). If we come upon a challenge, God loves us and will lead us forward, just as He led Jesus to raise Lazarus from death.
And so it was for me as I worked through the restoration of my condo. Step by step each issue was resolved harmoniously as I turned to God for guidance. I knew that I couldn’t blame myself or God for the problem, because focusing on evil makes evil appear real. Instead, I focused on God’s great love for me and trusted in His wisdom to lead me forward, and it did.
As we pray deeply, seeking God’s guidance, He reveals to us what we need to do to protect ourselves in any situation, and to deliver us from any trouble. If we haven’t been listening to God’s gentle message, He is still with us every moment, offering direction. God speaks to each of us, and as we still doubt and fear to hear His loving guidance, we will find ourselves safe and protected.
