The power of Truth
Daniel Webster, a renowned statesman of the 19th century, said, “There is nothing so powerful as truth.” Some time later, his fellow citizen of New England and the discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, took this idea to the next level when she wrote, “Truth is the power of God which heals the sick and the sinner, and is applicable to all the needs of man” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 259).
Divine Truth is the foundation of reality, and it annuls lies that obscure the path to justice, harmony, and goodwill. It enables us to find solutions.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth demonstrated this more powerfully than anyone who ever lived. When he was confronted with the evidence of God’s children being ill or lacking integrity, he saw it as a lie about them. He knew that everyone is the loved offspring of God, good, and therefore, in reality, is whole, pure, and upright. On that basis, he saw past the lie that God created His sons and daughters susceptible to disease or dishonesty. As he knew, spoke, and proved the power of divine Truth, this resulted in the healing of diseases and difficulties of every type.
Jesus also confronted the lie that jealousy and hatred could prevail over justice and compassion. His steadfast understanding that God, Truth, is supreme and thus overcomes and removes all unlike Himself, enabled him to triumph over the vitriol and violence aimed at him.
Jesus’ intent was that his followers should continue to use the power of Truth to overcome sickness and sin as he did (see John 14:12). And in her devotion to understanding his example, Mrs. Eddy discovered that the powerful truth that Christ Jesus taught and practiced is still applicable today. Mrs. Eddy wrote, “Truth casts out error now as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 495).
I leaned on Truth when I was confronted by an outright lie some years ago following a real estate transaction. The contract stipulated that after the sale had closed, our family would continue to live in the house for an additional six weeks, paying rent to the new owner. However, even though he had agreed to this, the new owner started disruptive renovation work on the property. It seemed to us that his intent was to drive us out sooner than agreed upon.
Then, not long after this started, I got a call from an attorney warning me to stop interfering with the renovation work. Having in no way attempted to interfere with the work, I was outraged that the other party was not only disregarding the contract stipulations, but also lying about my activities. I could hardly contain myself.
But it was quickly evident that reacting angrily to the lies wasn’t going to bring progress. I realized that the only way to find an answer here was through prayer, turning to the power of divine Truth, as I had usually done in my life when solutions were needed.
So I affirmed that God, Truth, has an answer for every difficulty, and that nothing is outside the realm of Truth’s resolution. This calmed me, and I humbly asked God to show me how to handle this situation.
I realized I had to see this person’s true identity as the spiritual man of God’s creating, not a litigious, self-centered, and offensive mortal. As the likeness of God, everyone’s true nature is to express Truth, integrity, and justice, and overcome the pull to lie, cheat, or bully.
My prayers also helped me recognize that, spiritually speaking, I, my family, and this man and his family actually abode in the kingdom of heaven, defined in Science and Health in part as “the reign of harmony in divine Science” (p. 590). This reign of harmony is forever intact.
As these spiritual insights brought me a sense of peace, the idea came to write a factual and detailed correction to each accusation that was leveled at us. That quieted things down, and soon the matter was resolved and we all moved on, to my relief and gratitude.
No matter what lies spring up and confront us individually or collectively, we can find in Truth, God, a powerful force for good that is always available. As the biblical Psalmist said: “For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation” (Psalms 100:5, New Living Translation).
Some more great ideas! To read or listen to an article in the weekly Christian Science Sentinel on the healing effect of acknowledging God’s existence and power titled “Everyday Spiritual Self-Defense,” please click through to www.JSH-Online.com. There is no paywall for this content.
