I cannot make sweeping promises about all the wonderful changes that could take
place in your life by using the First Commandment in your daily prayers and thought
processes. I do believe it will make your days more harmonious, even if only a little
bit at first. But, I am convinced that a sincere effort to cast out of our thinking and
reasoning all suggestions of the power of so-called "other gods," as defined in the
Bible and in the teachings of Christian Science, will eventually find you healing
sickness and sin, and demonstrating more of the divine goodness in your personal
experience.

If I had not seen this in the efforts of my own mother while I was young, and in the
lives of other Christian Scientists I have known over the years, or have read of in
the various church magazines, or heard in the many public lectures and testimony
meetings, then I would not be wasting my time in writing this web site. Putting God,
good, first in our life simply makes a difference.

But, putting God first is not the all of the First Commandment. God told Moses and
the children of Israel not to have other gods before Him. Later, Jesus explained that
the devil was a "liar, and the father of it," in other words, without truth or reality.
That is the basis upon which Christian Science proceeds -- that evil, in all its forms,
can ultimately be proven to be powerless, because it is unreal. Evil is unreal
because God is All, and how can there be evil anywhere in the allness of divine
Love, in pure truth, and good?

When you are faced with evil, with hate, with a terrible tragedy, injury, or illness,
it seems incredible that such a statement as the unreality of evil can be made. But it
can -- and it has -- and that truth has already proven triumphant countless times since
the discovery of this fact by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866. Here are some ways you
might put the First Commandment into practice in your daily life:

DAILY PRAYER:

Upon waking in the morning, acknowledge God right away. Do not give a moment's
chance to any other "god," or thought of another mind or evil. Declare "God is
Mind and that is the only Mind that I have and that I reflect. God is perfect and I am
His perfect image and likeness." Reflect on these ideas and let the divine Mind
speak to you with whatever inspiring ideas are yours for this day.

Take time to read the Word of God that he has already given to mankind. If God is
the only God to you, His Word in the Bible will be full of truth and power, and you
will acknowledge the Bible as your guide book. Christian Scientists like to read
Science and Health for further inspiration and teaching, but the Bible is definitely
the original Word which our textbook seeks to promote and interpret spiritually.
Together, the Bible and Science and Health are the "pastor" of the Church of
Christ, Scientist.

Spend time in specific prayer to God. Listen for His voice, and declare firmly
whatever inspiring ideas come to you. Resolve to put those ideas into practice
right away. If you believe God is the only God and you will have no others before
Him, then affirm that -- declare there are no other minds, good or evil; there are no
other powers, good or evil; there are no other creators; no other cause; no other
influence. If God, who is good, is supreme, then only good can come to you; only
good can influence you.

After acknowledging the truths about the one and only God, then pray for yourself.
If God is perfect, so are you! If God is Love, then He loves you! You reflect that
Love and are therefore capable of loving and being loved. There is no god of hate
or envy or lust. You can deny the reality of any bad character traits which seemed
to have attached themselves to you. God didn't make them! How can they be part
of His image and likeness? They can't, in reality, so pray to conform your thoughts
and action to reality as God knows it, not as some mortal mind or physical senses
see it.

God needs us as much as we need Him. We must go forth and express the divine
nature in the good qualities he has given us. Those qualities are things like joy,
intelligence, humility, steadfastness, unselfishness, humanity, compassion, vitality,
and good humor. Our goal is to express, or manifest God, not to BE a god!

We must also see that all men have the same Mind as their source. If you believe for
a minute that someone else is less than a perfect child of God, then you are breaking
the First Commandment. We train ourselves moment-by-moment to resist thinking
that evil is just as real and just as powerful as God.

During the day, we must stop occasionally and remember who we are: the beloved
spiritual offspring of God. We are at one with Him; we can never be separated from
Him, nor from all the good He has given us. We must expect good in our life, look for
it in others, and when we find it, magnify it for all to see. We must "let our light shine."

RELATIONSHIPS:

If we really want to "have no other gods before" the one divine Mind, we will not
make gods, or idols, of other people.

If you hand over to another person the power to make you happy or sad, based upon
their actions or attitude towards you, you have made them a god. Think about this.
We cannot allow ourselves to be robbed of our joy and our poise and self-
confidence. These feelings should flow from our own knowledge of self-worth,
and not because they have been bestowed by some mortal.

When we put God first, and keep Him there daily, all other relationships will fall
into their proper place. No one else can usurp God's position of authority in our
lives, unless we let them.

Is there someone who frightens you, or bullies you? One God, who is all-powerful,
stands with you. That God also loves your enemy and sees that person as a perfect,
beloved child. Pray to see your enemies as God sees them. Don't make their
troubling actions into gods of evil to hate and fear. Turn to divine Love for wisdom.
This is not easy -- believe me, I know -- but it is what we must do to obey the First
Commandment. No other gods, means no mortal or evil minds with the power to help
or harm.

If you gossip about others, you are worshipping other gods. You are saying, by any
unkind gossip or rumors that you spread or listen to, that there is a less-than-perfect
mortal personality who deserves to have their reputation or character trashed and
ridiculed. You have made another god, another mind, when you do that. The Great
I Am cherishes each and every child, and has never made any of them to be worthy
of disrespect. Nor has He made any of His children capable of being unloving to
others. To be obedient to your God, you must not gossip, and do whatever you can
to courageously put a stop to it when it presents itself to you.

Do you consider yourself as a victim of discrimination -- by reason of your gender
(or gender preferences), or race, or age, or culture. Or have you found yourself
feeling that others are less than equal for these, or similar, reasons? Turn to the
First Commandment. God is the only Creator. The only one. Could a mortal man,
based upon what we have learned in the Bible and in the teachings of Christian
Science, be a second creator or source of another human being? Only in his dreams!
Because God creates His offspring spiritually, His universe is peopled only with
spiritual beings -- not with a finite number of material bodies, each with its own
peculiar material shapes, forms, colors, preferences, personalities. Mrs. Eddy tells
us that gender is a mental concept. By sticking with the fact that there is only one
God, whose creation is spiritual and perfect, and who loves everyone equally, and
who has given to everyone equally -- even as He has given to each idea a distinct
individuality, with qualities and talents and a righteous purpose in God's plan --
then how can we be a victim of discrimination or hate? What god, or evil mind or
evil purpose, can originate such hatred? It is illusion, and can be destroyed by you
when you challenge its right to be a law to your life. Learn to see others as God sees
them -- spiritually -- and this love and mercy will be reflected back at you. It is a
law of God.

FAMILY:

Because God is the only Creator, our children on earth are not our personal
creations, even though the evidence to our five physical senses scream otherwise.
We are all God's children. In order to be obedient to the First Commandment, we
cannot, as humans, claim to be the originators or creators of other humans. God is
the one Father-Mother. We are caretakers of our family on earth, and in that role
we have unlimited opportunites to express the Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.
But the ultimate responsibility for our children, our spouses, our siblings, or any of
our family members -- is God's.

So, each day, to obey the First Commandment, place the well-being of those in your
family in God's hands. Declare that divine Love is watching over and caring for the
needs and welfare of each of your family members. This releases any fear we may
have when our children are not under our watchful eye. Fear is one of those other
gods that can loom large in our mind. It enslaves us. Only the love of divine Love
can liberate us, and give us the freedom to enjoy our families without the burden of
daily anxiety. This is very easy to write -- but it is not so easy to carry out! I never
really knew fear until I became a mother. But the truths above have been very
helpful to me in trying to let go of a personal and frightened sense of responsibility
for my kids. Again, is God a really, really Supreme God to us, taking care of us all,
or is he a limited power that we cannot count on in times of need or danger? First
Commandment!

EMPLOYMENT:

As we learn more about God as the one and only divine Mind, and understand that
man reflects that Mind, rather than having his own personal mind compressed within
a brain within a skull on a mortal body, then you're ready to see what true
employment is.

For instance, rather than looking to a material company or a human boss as the
source of your employment and pay, why not look first to God, who is the true source
of everything we really need. As Mary Baker Eddy writes in Miscellaneous
Writings: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily
supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present
help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment."

The next time you feel a need for a change in jobs, or a promotion, or a sense of
worth right where you are, try praying to God and following His lead. Use
spiritual qualities of integrity, energy, unselfishness, leadership, creativity,
motivation, and love in your current situation. Be patient. Be prepared. Listen
and watch.

Not only does the one God supply us with our true employment -- which is really
the employment of spiritual qualities in our daily life -- but he is the source of those
qualities, talents, and skills. Our job is to use those qualities. Mrs. Eddy writes in
Science and Health: "God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows. The talents
He gives we must improve." The one and only God is with you, and your co-workers,
on the job, at home, at school, in rush hour!

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