The Inner Life

“For ye, brethren, were called to freedom, only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”—Galatians 5:13.

OVER a month has passed since I copied this verse from the Bible. At the time I was much perplexed at its meaning, unable to make any comment upon it. Today, as I picked it up its hidden import became clear and it seemed to apply directly to my affairs at the moment.

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. Truly we must. There can be no side-stepping this law. We must bring our spiritual understanding into acceptance of this fact before we can truly be blessed spiritually.

I am thinking now of a certain person who slights me, makes fun of me, and when opportunity permits, insults me. I have been thinking for several days about this person, since she last offended me. I could not help but dwell on her short-comings, her glaring faults, how unkind and deceitful she was, etc. I had been trying to see the Christ in her, at least I thought I was and declared it to myself.

But I was deceiving myself. How could I see the Christ in her, her perfect self, and at the same time call to mind and see her human short-comings? Nevertheless the very fact that I was trying to see her perfection was to me proof that it was there, and proof that I would eventually get relief from my personal hurts.

“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another”. And today I realized that I had actually come to the place where the fire of my own thoughts were consuming me. The thoughts of condemnation that I had directed towards her had been robbing me of my freedom of thought, had made me weary, inefficient, and had burned me up emotionally. For I had misused my Creative Power—THOUGHT.

Thoughts and words are my Creative Power given me to use here on Earth, and when I waste them in riotous and negative thinking, I give to that thinking the power to produce whatever is pictured in my mind. And the worst sin is—that unconsciously, for the time being, I bind, limit and call forth those negative things from that person (at least as far as I am concerned). Every time that person comes into my presence or the thought of her comes to me, my tricky mind resurrects the picture I created and am carrying in my subconsciousness and brings it up for my attention and remembrance.

It doesn’t matter whether we speak these words of criticism or not; thoughts are unspoken words, their power is just as sure and creative. And it doesn’t matter how nice we treat people outwardly, if we do not make the “inner treatment” of them to “bear witness.” We “bite and devour and are consumed” by our unspoken thoughts or attitudes, just as much as we are by our spoken ones.

There is only one way out and that is “through love be servants one to another.” Meaning that we must absolutely ignore all slights, hurts, slanders, insults, and recognize the Christ in every person, Who has no part in any of these human displays. For the very fact that people are here on earth who do not please us is proof that God loves them just as much as He does us, and that He sends them to us to teach such lessons that we need to learn.

So, if we are “working with God” we must recognize His divinity, the Christ within all men; must bless them, and exclaim like Christ, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” For truly they do not. They are like babes who must be taught by their Mother that there is a right and wrong way to use their spoon in eating.

And so, must all be taught there is a right and wrong way to use God’s thoughts, our Creative Power, here on earth!