Government And Humility

FOR centuries people have striven to govern themselves. Some forms of government have worked better than others, but struggles and arguments still go on as to which is best. Why? One reason is that the best government, God's government, requires humility. Humility is seldom featured as the path to success. Yet, to be truly governed, we have to be truly humble. Surely, Christ Jesus was a divinely governed man. Yet he was profoundly humble. He took to himself no sense of superiority. His motives were unselfish. He drew no lines of distinction between people of different races, religions, or backgrounds but saw each as the child of God, created spiritually, able to think wisely, able to govern himself or herself intelligently.

In none of his achievements, however, did Jesus claim any personal ability. He said, John records, ``I can of mine own self do nothing.'' And John also tells us that Jesus said, ``The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.'' Jesus acknowledged God as his governing authority, and in this he revealed true government.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, writes, ``Reflecting God's government, man is self-governed.''

Jesus reflected God, reflected absolute, divine Truth and Love. There was no arrogance, pride, or snobbery in Jesus' outlook. He knew that God made man in His own likeness, that God is Spirit, and that the man of God's creating is wholly spiritual, wholly good, wholly capable.

Viewed spiritually, no one is superior to -- or inferior to -- another. We reflect God in individual ways, but we are all God's children, cherished equally by our one, heavenly Father-Mother God. We are all, in truth, governed by divine Love.

Recently I was involved with other people in reviewing the rules of a local democratically run organization. This activity brought to light conflicting views we had about democratic government. To resolve the differences we had to learn to be humble and to love more.

Today, millions of men, women, and children worldwide are suffering from political, religious, or economic domination. We can help bring freedom from such domination as we ourselves individually obey the laws of God's government more fully. And we can start by ensuring, to the best of our ability, that our own thinking is free from any taint of superiority or inferiority.

Jesus' compassion and humility enabled him to see every individual man, woman, and child as a spiritual expression of the same divine intelligence -- God -- that he reflected. This outlook brought healing. His example is one we can follow. By accepting God's government in our own lives we can help to liberate mankind from tyranny.

Being truly God-governed begins by acknowledging our relationship to God. With our own self-government under God's government established for each of us, we are best able to govern our homes, our institutions, our communities, our nations.

In Miscellaneous Writings Mrs. Eddy writes: ``We are brethren in the fullest sense of that word; therefore no queries should arise as to `who shall be greatest.' Let us serve instead of rule, knock instead of push at the door of human hearts, and allow to each and every one the same rights and privileges that we claim for ourselves.''

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