Human impulsiveness versus spiritual impulsion

A THING is not necessarily wrong when it is done on the spur of the moment, nor is it necessarily right when it takes time. The question is, Are we being moved by mere human impulsiveness, or are we being spiritually impelled, following the inspiration God gives us? If the latter, good things are sure to accrue to everyone concerned. When I was a little girl, I decided, in a flurry of enthusiasm, that it would be nice to have a costume party. So I invited all my friends to dress up and come to my house. Then I forgot all about it. When the appointed hour arrived, a considerable line of little costumed figures began to appear at our door--but I was nowhere to be found. My busy mother sadly sent all of them back home. It was a catastrophe. That's just a small example of how human impulsiveness can cause trouble. While overseas many years later, and after the desire to live very close to God had begun to take root in my consciousness, I felt an intuitive urge to cable for news about certain friends in the United States. By return cable I learned they were about to lose their home because of foreclosure. Thanks to kind associates of mine in the States, credit was established whereby my friends' overdue mortgage payments could be made. Not only was the family's home saved, but great new opportunities opened for them all. That's the kind of thing spiritual impulsion can accomplish. Clearly, human impulsiveness can have far more serious repercussions than a fizzled costume party. It can be a factor in criminal acts, in despotic control, in bad decisions in government. It can even foster war. And spiritual impulsion can do more than save a single family's future. It can help to improve health, resolve conflicts, and bring peace. This statement by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, is pertinent here: ``Corporeal and selfish influence is human, fallible, and temporary; but incorporeal impulsion is divine, infallible, and eternal.'' 1 What enabled Christ Jesus to master the elements, heal the sick, and raise the dead? It was the spiritual impulsion of the healing Christ, Truth, the divine power embodied by Jesus for the blessing of humanity. And it was his understanding of man's true nature as God's child, His expression--not material but incorporeal, spiritual, beloved and safe under His all-wise government. Discords are not products of the divine will. Therefore we don't have to be victimized. ``Ye shall know the truth,'' Jesus said, ``and the truth shall make you free.'' 2 Christian Science shows us how to live and pray in the scientifically Christian way, impelled by God, Spirit, rather than by human impulses. This leaves the field to God's law of harmony, and healing takes place. When we begin to know ourselves spiritually, we become aware of having a vastly higher identity and nobler calling than is provided by restrictive, perishable matter. Actually, we are the very expression of God's nature. So we can maintain with conviction the fact that we are not animated by temperamental impulse, personal willfulness, selfishness, or hereditary patterns. We are the conscious manifestation of divine Mind, impelled by divine Love! If we feel ourselves bristling in the contemplation of any experience, we need to lift up our sense of everyone involved, identify them not as faulty mortals but as children of God, good and righteous. And we need to stick to this spiritual truth until only forgiveness and compassion rest over the whole episode like a benediction. Then no emotional seething can trip us up. If divine Love is impelling us, no mesmeric impulse can cause us to strike out in a wrong direction or fearfully hold back when God is telling us to go forward. Surrendering to the Father's will, we will know what to do when we need to know it, and we will know how to do it. When we stand decisively on the eternal perfection of God and man in Science, our prayers can exert a strong impact in behalf of healing throughout the world. They can help to still the explosive impulses of power-seeking pride, lust, and fanaticism. Guided by Spirit's holy impulsions, we will help bring to light the true concept of man as God's reflection--rich, pure, well, and beautiful, wrapped in the arms of divine Love where comfort is felt and peace is found. 1 Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 89-90. 2 John 8:32.