Natural Influence?

IS it really possible that man's happiness, health, or success can be affected by the moon? In Roman mythology, Luna is the goddess of the moon, or the moon personified. The word lunatic, or crazy, is derived from the Latin root luna and suggests that man's mental capacities can somehow be influenced or disturbed by the moon's phases.

Basing one's decisions on the fullness of the moon is taken seriously by some. A business associate said to me recently that during full moons he cannot sleep for two days! While such views may make for entertaining conversation, acceptance of them is dangerous. Such reports may spark curious interest or romance, but deification of nature is disobedience to God.

The First Commandment, in Exodus, clearly states, ``Thou shalt have no other gods before me'' (20:3). The Bible informs us that this me, or God, is omnipresent Spirit. He is omnipotent good. His creation must be like Him, must therefore be spiritual. Not a single quality of God exists in matter. To attribute to the moon or to planets and stars any type of power to create, influence, or destroy is a mistaken belief in astrology, a form of pantheism. The universe is, and must be, subject to Spirit alone.

The Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew's Gospel, tells us ``the kingdom, and the power, and the glory'' (6:13) are God's forever! Christ Jesus proved man's God-given dominion over the universe when he walked on the water, stilled the rough seas, healed all sorts of diseases. He showed God's control of the universe is divinely natural. Jesus showed God's power to be only good.

Mary Baker Eddy discovered the scientific laws that underlie the words and works of Jesus and named them Christian Science. She explains in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ``There is but one real attraction, that of Spirit.'' And she continues in the next paragraph: ``The planets have no more power over man than over his Maker, since God governs the universe; but man, reflecting God's power, has dominion over all the earth and its hosts'' (p. 102).

Yet, it is not enough just to say the moon has no influence over man. We need to understand that the so-called laws of matter defined in physics, astronomy, and chemistry cannot overthrow God's law. God, infinite Spirit, does not use finite matter to represent Him. The unlimited is not expressed through the limited. The application of God's laws through the science of being allows us to heal in the way Jesus did, to prove God's power in daily experience.

Recently, I saw a child throwing a tantrum in a local store. The clerk explained wearily that every child who had entered that day had acted the same way. She attributed the cause to the full moon. Recognizing immediately that man's mental balance is dependent only on God, I prayed silently, affirming that neither astronomical movements nor superstition has power to control any of God's children. It was clear to me that a mistaken belief is not law. I was filled with confidence in God's love for His children. I was so happy to observe that the tantrum stopped immediately without any further action from the mother. The child stood quietly next to her mother, smiling up at me.

It is important to choose to acknowledge and obey only God. Material, earthly, or celestial happenings have no beneficial effects. While good luck may seem harmless, trust in anything besides divine Spirit, the one and only God, obscures our ability to obtain God's help. We must resist any temptation to accept such views or to excuse wrongdoing. To honor matter is to dishonor God.

By abandoning false trusts, we can turn wholeheartedly to God as the Mind of man. Beholding, through reflection, His creation, we will experience no changeable or variable love.

When we correctly identify Spirit as the one and only natural power, supreme over all its formations, matter can have no influence. Effect must be like its cause. Divine Love, the Principle of all being, is the only cause, the only power and presence.