by Evan Mehlenbacher
Does a fast food cashier earning $14,000 a year have as much worth as a software programmer earning $150,000? In light of the huge disparities that exist between high and low earners these days, it’s a healthy question to ask. When pressed, most people would agree that the fast food worker and the programmer are equally important human beings, but sometimes we lose sight of this basic premise.
I believe the worth of a person can’t be measured materially, in terms of salary, position or prestige. It’s spirituality lived and expressed that gives life meaning and purpose. And any of us can have a spiritually rich life regardless of how much money we earn.
by Elaine Follis
It’s not what you chew, but what you chew over in your thought, that packs on pounds. This is not a novel insight; “Dr. Phil” would probably say the same thing. But I’ve proved it from the standpoint of Christian Science, and that moves the discussion to a whole new level.
It all depends on where you start. If you start with a material body, believe me, you will never be satisfied. I experienced a significant weight loss in the 1980’s. Before the loss, people commented on my fat thighs. Afterwards they-in some cases the very same individuals-asked whether I was anorexic. I mean, give me a break! “People” are never going to be satisfied; and if you take what they say as gospel, neither are you.
by Melissa Konetchy
“Be soft with yourself.” The idea spoke to me, suddenly, and carried with it profound meaning. Don’t be so hard on yourself: be kind and gentle. It had never occurred to me that I didn’t love myself, but I discovered that I didn’t. But then as I set about to understand this statement, wonderful things began to happen. I started to learn what beauty is really about.
Let me back up a bit. By the time I reached college, I was just coming to terms with the idea that I had a feminine side. My grooming and dressing habits had improved, and for the first time ever, boys seemed to notice my existence. Around the same time, I noticed that my weight was fluctuating every few months. This initially led to some weight gain, then some severe weight loss, and finally weight re-gain.
Testimony Reprinted from The Christian Science Journal, March 2006
In LAGOS, NIGERIA, WHERE I GREW UP, many who’d left home to make their way in the United States were welcomed back as heroes. I admit that I used to get caught up in some of that hero worship myself. These people seemed so beautiful and modern to me, so much better than I was. I felt unworthy next to them. Sometimes I questioned my own abilities.
But I always had something to fall back on, and that was the definition of worth that my parents taught me right from the very beginning. They would say, Tunde, you are worth a lot, you are worth so much because you are the reflection of God, you are evidence of God’s existence. They would tell me, Your very being is attesting to the goodness of God.
by Evan Mehlenbacher
Have you heard the recent news about gaining weight? Researchers claim that obesity is contagious!
Their report states that it matters who your friends are, explaining that people gain weight or slim down according to the girth of neighbor and relatives they associate with closest. “Both obesity and thinness are socially contagious,” says James Fowler, co-author of the study funded by the National Institute on Aging, and recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The report concludes that we tend to adjust to the size of people we are close to. If our best friends are heavier, we start to justify in our own mind going up a couple of sizes. If a person with a strong influence over us loses weight, we might decide to do the same, and slim down.
While trying to figure out what to make of the report, I reasoned the conclusions out from a Christian Science perspective.
Liz Duffy - Adapted from The Christian Science Journal, April, 2007
During my teen years I faced emotional setbacks, which made me confused about God’s role in my life. I was very shy and within myself, and I had low self-esteem. I didn’t really talk to anyone except my close friends, and my friends weren’t always high quality. In middle school, my parents divorced. Although I was glad they weren’t living together any more, I was still angry and resentful toward them and also toward my three older siblings. At the beginning of high school, I had a brief bout with anorexia and continued to obsess over my weight and physical appearance. Later, I got a taste of smoking, drinking, and physical relationships.
Quentin The Christian Science Journal, Nov. 2006
Last year toward the end of seventh grade, a group of boys my age and younger created a rumor about me suggesting I did something very embarrassing in sixth grade. There were so many reasons why the rumor was ridiculous. But the boys thought it was amusing.
Things started to get out of hand pretty quickly, and more and more people started to make fun of me when they saw me. (more…)
Golda Orwa - The Christian Science Journal, July 2006
I have done many things I’m not proud of. But the lessons I’ve learned from my trespasses have become priceless to me. Step by step, I’ve learned to forgive those who I felt had wronged me, and-most of all-to forgive myself.
Self-forgiveness may seem self-serving, but it’s one of the most selfless acts there is. It means doing as Jesus instructed: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” 1 In other words, be willing to work on our own faults, so we see clearly enough to help others overcome theirs. But it’s difficult to see things clearly when you have so much anger, as I did. (more…)
By Chase Clements - The Christian Science Journal, July 2006
“Do you want a drink?” my friend asked me one night last summer in the basement of his house. Two girls were there, and I didn’t want to seem like a loser. I had known that my friend was bound to ask me that question eventually, and my thoughts began darting around at light speed.
At the prep school I attend, popularity is determined by several factors: most significantly, if and how much you drink, how many “cool” parties you attend, and if you’ve had sex. When my friend offered the drink, I felt I had a fairly firm understanding of why I didn’t need it. For one, I don’t want to have to lean on external sources like alcohol to make me popular or to feel relaxed. But the only thing I could think about was how I’d appear if I said no. The fear of doing the unpopular thing began to cloud my thoughts. (more…)
By David Hogg - The Christian Science Journal, February 2006
If you’d asked me a few years ago, I probably would have said that Christian Science is just another religion. It didn’t really seem practical to me—more like something you only thought about at church on Sundays. But little by little over the last couple of years I’ve been seeing something different. Christian Science is practical. It’s relevant. It’s fantastic, really!
Once I started really living like a Christian Scientist, putting Christian Science into practice, I began to see that no problem is without a solution. Christian Science isn’t about being labeled, or about do’s and don’ts. I think living as a Christian Scientist means taking everything to God, just having a constant willingness to listen to Him and to see things from His perspective. (more…)
