Separate out the wrong – and see what’s right

I’ve often heard sayings such as, “Hate the sin, not the sinner.” My study of Christian Science has given me a spiritual perspective on this concept, as I’ve learned that sin or any evil, sickness, or wrong isn’t part of a person.

Through prayer, we can separate the wrong from the person by understanding that it was never part of anything God, divine Love, created. Christ Jesus demonstrated the ability to correct wrong by denying that it was any part of God’s creation, man, including each one of us.

For example, we read in the Gospel of Mark, “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him” (1:23-26).

Jesus did not attribute the problem to that individual; he understood it to be entirely separate from the man.

I’ve thought about this same concept in my prayers to see that anything wrong or unwell cannot be any part of us because it wasn’t created by God, Spirit, who is the only creator. And because it can’t be part of our spiritual identity, it can be removed completely and immediately without any negative effects.

In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Expose and denounce the claims of evil and disease in all their forms, but realize no reality in them” (p. 447). No unhealthy condition or attitude can be part of anyone’s true identity, and this truth removes whatever seems to be wrong as we understand man, as God’s child, to be only good.

It was this kind of prayer that recently prompted me to overcome an outburst of anger. I was running along the sidewalk near my home, when a man on a bicycle came round the corner at speed and crashed straight into me.

Not only did I get a fright, but he hit me so hard that my whole right leg had rubber tire marks all down it. And in an attempt to protect my face, I had raised my left arm and it made contact with the handlebars, awkwardly bending my thumb, which became very sore.

I was so angry at this man, and I shouted at him for riding on the sidewalk – which is against the law in my country – and causing this accident. He cycled off, mumbling that the roads were too dangerous to cycle on.

I was able to get home whilst fizzing about the incident. But a few minutes after arriving there, I realized that my anger was not helping the situation. And I certainly didn’t want to accept the belief that I might have a broken or dislocated thumb.

I knew that I had to forgive this man, but it was difficult at first. I was very self-righteous – he had been in the wrong, breaking the law even, and I was the victim! Why was it my need to forgive him?

But angry thoughts (even if they seem justified) don’t really come from God, who is Love. Therefore, they aren’t part of me as God’s child. Similarly, any injury to my thumb couldn’t be part of me because God had still been loving and caring for me even during the incident.

So, while I needed to separate the man’s wrongdoing from him, I also needed to remove the anger and indignation from my own thinking. As soon as I mentally yielded to divine Love rather than to anger, normal movement of my thumb returned, and I was able to change out of my running clothes and take a shower. The rubber from the bicycle tire was easily washed away, and I was left with only slight scrapes and bruises, which by bedtime were also gone.

Whenever we’re tempted to think something is wrong either with ourself or with another person, we can know – with God-given authority – that the wrong is powerless. It has never been and can never be part of God’s spiritual creation, and knowing this brings healing.

Adapted from an article published in the April 2025 issue of The Christian Science Journal.