Unthreatenable man

The Goliaths of our time come in forms different from the Biblical giant - but they are just as defeatable. They include both crime and the fear of crime.

You needn't cast yourself in the role of a modern-day David, charging into a head-on confrontation with these Goliaths. You can, however, arm yourself with an understanding of man's true, unthreatenable nature. Then, if you ever come face to face with a Goliathlike situation, you can deal with it fearlessly.

God has made man, and the man that God made cannot be threatened. God and man are inseparable as the one Mind and its idea, Love and its perfect offspring. Man is the expression of Love and Mind. All dominion, authority, wisdom, derive from God and are inherent in man's true nature. When we know ourselves to be the man God made, we see these qualities as an integral part of our own true nature. We can then move through each day calmly self-assured because we're sure of God's presence. And this God-inspired self-assurance creates a mental environment that tends to defuse a potentially dangerous situation.

The Goliath we face is only in part crime itself. Largely, it's the fear of crime. Fear would constantly tyrannize us, keep us off balance about something we think might happen to us seconds or weeks or years from now. When we cut down the fear, we've gone a long way toward felling the giant.

The teachings of Christian Science, following the Bible, directly refute the apparent power of fear. Mary Baker Eddy n1 writes: ''Divine Love is our hope, strength, and shield. We have nothing to fear when Love is at the helm of thought, but everything to enjoy on earth and in heaven.'' n2

n1 Mrs. Eddy the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.

n2 Miscellaneous Writings, p. 113.

God, perfect Love, is everywhere. Man is everywhere. Man is never separate from divine Love. We can realize, then, that we actually move through each day companioned by divine Love; that there is no reason to fear. Not only fear of crime but crime itself lessens in a mental environment where the consciousness of Love's presence and might is given increasing place.

In my neighborhood, which is rated high on crime and low on safety, it is common to see posters and ads listing techniques to stop crime before it happens. Police often hold seminars where they advocate similar techniques. These offer good advice, but fall short of the God-inspired assurance that man is unthreatenable. It's one thing to emotionally rev up a sense of bravado, to paste on a look of confidence. It's quite another to walk conscious of the presence and power of God, Love; to be aware that if something isn't empowered by God it simply doesn't have power at all.

When Pilate said to Christ Jesus, ''Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?'' Jesus' response was, ''Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.'' n3 That was a response rooted in the conviction of God's all-power, a power that brings only good into our lives. It was a response that we can begin to emulate.

n3 John 19:10, 11.

Some months ago, while I was walking in my neighborhood, a man pulled a switch-blade knife out and moved it toward my stomach. With scarcely a pause I stepped around the knife and continued down the sidewalk, much as a busy New Yorker might step around someone handing out leaflets without taking one. The whole confrontation dissolved before it had a chance to build. In a small way the incident hints at the assurance we can have as we are sure of God's ever-present nature.

Wherever you go, you are walking with God. He is going before you and is always with you. This truth, realized - and lived through obedience to divine law - makes you unthreatenable. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalms 139:7-10

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