November 5th

A Christian Science perspective on daily life.

For many months, Nov. 4 stood like a wide banner before most of the citizens of the United States with a promise of the finish line for one of the most compelling races to the presidency of our time. But now, it's the 5th, and the votes have been cast.

There is great joy and celebration for the victor. A new leader emerges. But for many who voted for the ticket that didn't win, there's a wide range of emotions – resignation, dismay, disappointment, anger, sadness. Many placed their votes and hopes in a team that didn't win, and therefore, those individuals may feel to some degree that they themselves have lost a great deal.

This ache, though, need not linger, and our prayers can comfort those who are in distress.

Here's an example of how such prayer can help. A woman attended an important meeting of an institution in which she had invested heavily. At the meeting a sensitive issue was to be voted on that had been under consideration for a number of years and was discussed at length prior to the vote. As it turned out, the point of view she held was victorious.

Although she was glad about what she felt was a progressive step, she also felt a deep compassion for the minority in the vote. Rather than leave the issue behind her or feel smug about the victory, she spent several days after the meeting praying for the peace of all the members, especially those whose point of view had been defeated.

This approach was new to her, and deeply encouraging, because she could see that her desire for the peace of others was proof that there was a higher government in effect in her life. God, divine Love, was, in fact, the source of the compassion in her heart, and truly His government had been quietly influencing her thought over the years. It had led her to a larger point of view, which included the greater good. In her own heart self-interest had been defeated, and a desire to see the comfort of others had been victorious.

That government of God, which the woman experienced, is present always. It's never in transition, and although it's invisible, it's all-powerful and ever-active. It supplies and supports all right ideas. It strengthens and upholds whatever is good in human policies, and dissolves and discards what is unworthy, shortsighted, and temporal.

This is truly government for all people. It is uninterrupted, eternal, always at work. It isn't too big or undersized, because it is both infinite and also under the direction of divine Principle. The divine government of God doesn't become tiresome, spent, or outdated. It reigns with wisdom, spiritual finesse, precision, and ever-present love. It never changes. It is completely reliable.

In describing the governing ability of Christ, which Christian Science explains is God's saving message to humanity, the prophet Isaiah declared, "The government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (9:6). In the final book of the Bible, Revelation, this government is pronounced to "reign for ever and ever" (11:15). This is a government that does not disappoint, and that always lives up to its promises of fairness, mercy, goodness, abundance, and healing.

This is the ongoing government in which all people can feel assured and hopeful. It works without programs and bureaus. Its budget and oversight are safely managed and balanced by one all-knowing, all-loving power.

The founder of this newspaper, Mary Baker Eddy, when asked to comment on her political views, gave this statement: "I am asked, 'What are your politics?' I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government; to love God supremely, and my neighbor as myself" ("The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," p. 276).

In God's government, there are no losers. It's a government all can support.
