To help stop crime in the neighborhood

Every day the news brings to our attention crimes of such variety it can become a bit overwhelming. There appear to be so many aspects to the overall problem, and even more opinions about how to solve the various issues. This certainly has proved to be the case in theories about fighting crime, as a Monitor feature reports ("Targeting guns to reduce violent crime," Jan. 10).

History has shown, however, that effective solutions emerge from calm thought, from a willingness to listen to the other side, as well as to recognize the one power and intelligence that is greater than human opinions – God.

For most of us, it’s not our job to craft legislation, pass judgment, or even pursue the leads of law enforcement. But we can make a valuable contribution by praying about the issues we become aware of and by upholding through prayer those whose job it is to pursue wise courses of action.

I’ve found a tremendous basis for daily prayer in the instruction of Jesus. He presented a view of God’s law that overrides all human indicators: “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2).

This spiritual, universal law invites one to affirm in prayer that what is not right cannot remain hidden. The authority of God’s law stands behind the recognition that there is no point at which misdeeds, mistaken ideas, crime of any sort, can remain hidden from God’s revealing light.

This law also points out that what is good must inevitably be uncovered. Good ideas find their way to the table for consideration, right motives are acknowledged, and wise law crafted and adjudicated.

Praying in this way does not require one to know what needs to be uncovered, nor formulate opinions that outline how the correction will come to pass. Rather, it upholds the very individuals whose job it is to address crime, including the detection of innocence where this important element is needed.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Monitor, recognized this power of God to continually reveal needed ideas. She wrote confidently of His Christ as “a divine influence ever-present in human consciousness” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. xi). The willingness to intelligently bear witness to the might of this divine law to uncover in all directions the very ideas that are needed to correct the crimes of the day serves as a foundation for genuine and enduring progress.

The weight this prayer puts in the right side of the balance far outweighs in substance mere human speculation about crime, its causes, and what needs to be done. The endeavor to uphold and spotlight intelligent investigation, creative initiatives, and prudent judgments supports all who are seeking solutions to crime, locally, nationally, and in the world at large.