Slam the door!

Have you seen this TV ad? Here's how it goes. The doorbell rings. A woman answers and says, "Who is it?" The man at the door says, "It's me, Influenza. You know, the flu." He comes in, and soon the whole family is sick.

What do you think would have happened if the woman had said, "You can't come in!" and slammed the door?

Well, there's a place in the Bible that shows how you can do that.

In Psalm 91, it says that because we're always with God, it's like we're in a strong fort, or under the feathers of a big mother bird - that is, totally safe. This psalm is a promise that we are safe both day and night, no matter where we are - safe from every terrible thing. And it specifically mentions being protected from "pestilence." That can include contagious disease. That psalm also tells us God is taking care of us.

A book about the Bible, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," says we can be "porters" at the door of our thought and keep out sickness (see "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," by Mary Baker Eddy, pg. 392). A porter is a guard who stands at a door.

Now, a porter has to be alert. He or she has to be able to know who should come in and who shouldn't. Also, the porter has to have authority. He or she has to have some power to be able to carry out orders.

You can be a porter. Here's how. Suppose a sick (or unhappy or angry) thought comes to you. You can quickly decide: "Is this a good thought from God? Will it be good for me or someone else?" If not, quickly shut it out of your thought. Don't wonder where it came from. Shut it out. You can do this with authority because God has given you the power to carry out this order.

Here are some ideas from the Bible that will give you the power to be a porter and not open the door to the flu, or any sickness.

Pretend the doorbell rings in your thought. The door opens and someone says, "It's me, the flu." SLAM the door and say: "I am made by God. Perfect. I'll stay that way forever. Nothing can change me. Everything God makes is good, just like Himself. He never made the flu." (You know, if you look carefully in the first chapter in Genesis in the Bible, where it tells how God made everything good, you won't find any mention of the flu. God didn't make anything bad.)

SLAM the door and say: "God loves me so much. I'm covered all over with love, so I'm always safe. Because God's love is everywhere, it wipes out anything that's not part of Her loving. Flu, you can't stand up against God's love."

The Bible tells lots of other things about God that you can use to shut out sickness from your thought. Do you know some other door-slamming ideas?

What if you didn't shut the door fast enough, and it feels like you're sick? When you think about what you know about God, the sick feeling has to be a mistake. And you can always correct a mistake.

One day I was feeling like I was getting sick. I was just dragging around and complaining, "I don't want to be sick and feel terrible for the next couple of days." Then a thought came to me. It had to be from God. The thought was: "You don't have to be sick. I'm not making you sick. And there's no germ bigger or stronger than I am to make you sick. I am in charge of your life, and I am keeping you healthy and perfect." That made sense to me. And you know, I started to feel better. Soon I was feeling fine, not one bit sick.

Isn't it great to know that you can be a porter and slam the door on sickness?

Finally, my friends, keep your

minds on whatever is true, pure,

right, holy, friendly, and proper.

Don't ever stop thinking about

what is truly worthwhile

and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

(Contemporary English Version)

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society