A TIMELY TOPIC, APRIL 22, 2008:

MINIMIZING ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES
IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states: “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” Mary Baker Eddy states in her textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one, blesses all…”  (Science and Health p. 206:15) Newton’s law is a law of physics. Mary Baker Eddy refers to a metaphysical law. As we seek to understand how God blesses man, adverse reactions or consequences will abate.

In our day to day living, there appear to be reactions, consequences, or trade-offs to much of what we do. Take the processing of corn into ethanol, an alternative fuel for automobiles, as an example. At first glance, it appears to be a good idea, but there are many unavoidable trade-offs associated with the endeavor. The quality of groundwater is compromised with nitrogen from fertilizer. The use of corn for fuel creates a greater demand for corn as a food source (as well as a greater demand for other displaced crops) which in turn causes an increase in prices for corn and other products. To process the fuel takes considerable amounts of energy and water.

Why are there adverse consequences to well-intentioned actions? Imbalances, lack, and adverse consequences arise from the belief that man is separated from God, in other words, the “Adam dream,” the misconception that man must “till the soil,” or struggle in the morass of enigmatic variables. In particular, adverse consequences are based upon belief in the laws of physics, that in doing something over here it will have a negating effect over there. Mrs. Eddy sums up the problem this way:

“The definitions of material law, as given by natural science, represent a kingdom necessarily divided against itself, because these definitions portray law as physical, not spiritual. Therefore they contradict the divine decrees and violate the law of Love, in which nature and God are one and the natural order of heaven comes down to earth.” (Science and Health p. 118: 26)

In stark contrast to the laws of physics, the simplicity and beauty of these verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount reveal the hidden, omnipresent substance of spiritual reality, revealed to spiritual sense:

“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what shall ye drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body, than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mathew 6: 25, 26, and 33)

Jesus understood the spiritual law that God cares for man, irrespective of the earth. In other words, God made man complete. Spiritually speaking, man embodies health, sustenance, companionship, shelter, safety, and so on. Becoming conscious of man’s spiritual nature, we bring in some degree this consciousness or the “kingdom of heaven” into our earthly experience.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of this in the Bible is Jesus feeding five thousand people with no more than five barley loaves and two fish. As John’s gospel records the event, Jesus began by thanking God. It is clear from this simple act that he did not delve into the intricacies of biological processes. He understood and acknowledged the continuity of the singular, spiritual being which leaves no gap in supply, no lack in man’s expression of Life, and no opportunity for adversity. The upshot? Zero adverse consequences. There were no unnecessary expenditures or depletions of food stuffs, no inconveniences or advance preparations for anyone.

Taking a second look at Mary Baker Eddy’s statement quoted in the first paragraph, this time in context, it reads:  “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes, — Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply.” Jesus demonstrated, then, an ever-operative law that Spirit blesses man, here and now. No one is left out or in conflict and everyone is blessed. Is this too good to be true?

The Psalmist sang, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” (Psalms 24: 1) It may appear that the earth itself sustains us and that its limited resources compel us to carelessly degrade the environment. It may seem as if we have to manage its imbalances and to engage in negotiations and conflict in order to appease the demands of consumers and industrialists. But shouldn’t we first honor the Creator by appealing to Him and trusting that He will care for his creation?

The children of Israel found themselves in a similar situation after their exodus from Egypt. Like them, are we murmuring over the loss of cheap fuel, of abundant water resources, of pristine environment, and the accumulation of greenhouse gases? God, Spirit is not absent from the scene and nothing can separate us from the divine wisdom which comes through a love for God and his creation, man and the universe. The more we recognize that we are not the Adam race condemned to till the soil in strife, but each the man of God’s creating, we will witness God’s blessing.

Considering the impact of our actions on others and on the environment and expressing reverence, gratitude, and humility, we can begin to reverse undesirable consequences. Reverence for the environment demonstrates our true nature as children of God. Gratitude trusts in the substance of Spirit, Mind, the inexhaustible source of ideas.  Humility acknowledges that God is the Creator and man is not. When we realize that God’s spiritual creation is infinite and complete, we begin to think and act according to the perfect order God has already established. We discover that we do possess the receptivity to entertain grander ideas as well as the wisdom and ingenuity to implement them as the fulfillment of God’s blessing.  Mary Baker Eddy states in Science and Health: “Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free…” (Science and Health p. 171: 4)

We live always in the paradise of Spirit. There is nothing to hinder our fulfillment of this fact on earth.

Dean Boesen