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Honoring God

Worshiping God means fully honoring Deity as the only power. This author discovered that striving to honor God in her daily activities and in her approach to world issues provides practical solutions and healing inspiration.

  • By Karen Neff

Christian Science Perspective audio edition
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One day I began to consider what makes Christian Science a Bible-based, spiritual religion and not just a self-help doctrine. I quickly realized it is because Christian Science is based on the worship of God and not on a mechanism of the human mind.

Thinking about worshiping God led me to ponder the Lord’s Prayer that Christ Jesus taught, which begins, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). I wondered what it means to hallow God’s name and whether I was doing that. I found that to hallow God means to honor Him as holy – as pure, immaculate, and complete.

One way to honor God’s holiness is to think about an aspect of Deity elucidated in Christian Science, discovered by Mary Baker Eddy: God’s omnipotence, or all-power. The Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” explains: “There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God” (p. 228).

This idea of honoring God as the only power can serve as a guide in daily life. For instance, we can ask ourselves, when we speak, if it’s in a way that is gracious and respectful and that honors God and His creation. And when we see reports of destruction, disease, and loss, do we actually dishonor God by believing He would allow these to happen? Or do we honor Him by praying to see that all of His children are being cared for?

Honoring God gives impetus to our prayers. For example, when I have felt anxious, I have prayed, “I will honor God by being calm, since I know He is upholding me.” Or once when I unexpectedly had to give a public talk, I prayed to honor God, divine Love, by letting the inspiration come from Him and not letting the talk become a self-promoting recitation. Although I’d had very little time for preparation, the words flowed, enabling me to express thoughts that I knew came from a source much higher than myself.

One healing that came as a result of honoring God was that of being excessive, especially when it came to grocery shopping. If I found an item I liked, I would buy as many as I could find or afford. This resulted in many foolish and wasteful purchases, but I couldn’t seem to stop. I felt safer when I had a supply laid up for myself and my family.

Hoarding stems from a fearful assumption that we won’t have what we need. But Science and Health states: “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need” (p. 494). We can honor God by trusting the divine law of Love to supply every need. In my case, I determined to resist the compulsion to overbuy through prayer – through honoring God.

The need to lean on God’s all-power to provide for every need was put to the test when the pandemic hit and I was tempted to fall into old habits and start stockpiling hard-to-get items. But I wanted to trust God’s provision, as well as love others enough to leave sufficient supplies for them. I faithfully did this, and during this difficult time, I found I was always able to get what was needed when it was needed.

Each day provides plenty of ways to honor God. And while the complete resolution of each issue may still be forthcoming, there is enough evidence of progress to encourage us to continue honoring God as the only power and source of all good.

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