The State of the Union: a different view

A Christian Science perspective.

Like many Americans, I listened intently as President Obama gave his live televised State of the Union message Tuesday evening. The annual speech provides Congress with an update on where we have been and where we are going, and in recent decades, the public has been given the privilege of listening in.

I’ve experienced firsthand some of the numerous issues addressed in the speech that are confronting the United States. I’ve felt the impact of the economic and housing crisis in my personal and business life, and have seen friends struggle with layoffs and difficulty finding employment. I’ve witnessed with gratitude the strides made in bringing troops home from war and in defeating terrorism. I have literally heard the shouts of frustration from the “Occupy” movement as those involved take a stand for what they feel is a needed change. And while I could and did listen with interest and expectation to Tuesday’s address, I asked myself how I could contribute to my country’s progress.

Like any citizen, I can become more informed and utilize my right to vote in an educated way. I can become an activist in a movement that I feel can make a positive difference. And most important to me, I can do what comes most naturally for me to do, and what has always proved most effective. I can pray.

As I realized my part in this, I got to thinking about the whole concept of the “state of the union.” It occurred to me that from a spiritual standpoint there could be only one state of the union, and – Hallelujah! – it is a good one. God, the divine, all-knowing Mind, is able to see everything with perfect clarity, with perfect and absolute Truth. He surely knows what He created and the nature and state of its being.

I felt relieved. And that relief came not only from realizing that I can willingly let go of confusion and doubt, and that I can trust God’s omnipotence and omnipresence. I was also calmed and reassured by knowing that the true state of affairs – the absolute spiritual state of the union, of our union with God and so with one another – must naturally and necessarily be perfectly harmonious, flourishing, and good at all times. This is what God has caused and keeps in its original state.

God’s spiritual creation is intact and stands firm and true and can’t be impacted by crises, nor does it need to be corrected by time or by legislation. The state of our union with God has perfect integrity. It is unshakable, invincible, and impartial. It is not in the hands of politicians or economists. It is in the capable hands of an omniscient God, who I know to be Love.

Knowing and accepting that God keeps all that He made as an incorruptible, unified whole can bring each of us, including those in positions of power, fearless calm, insight, and trust, which enable wise human actions, clear and reasonable discourse, new and healing ideas, and a peace that remains undisturbed.

We all can unite in the purpose of seeing more of what is really going on, more of the absolute harmony that is God’s providence and His promise. That promise is the permanent and blessed state of our union, and of every idea in God’s creation, be it individual or nation – “yesterday, and to-day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

To receive Christian Science perspectives daily or weekly in your inbox, sign up today.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to The State of the Union: a different view
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/A-Christian-Science-Perspective/2012/0126/The-State-of-the-Union-a-different-view
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe