National security

I have a friend who used to complain about the government's attempt to solve the question of poverty by throwing money at an array of programs. Now he complains about the government's attempt to solve the problem of national security by throwing all sorts of money at it!

It's not unusual for a democratic society to shift back and forth in determining the most appropriate way to use its funds. Citizens need to be informed if they are to help representatives find a proper balance in spending the taxpayers' contributions.

But underlying the need for discerning the wisest way to spend is an even greater need. It has to do with the moral and spiritual tenor of public thought. We might tend to assume that elements of national security provide the protection for our way of life. Actually, it's just the other way around. The right way of life will give us the proper approach to national security; it will lead us to the most appropriate balance of spending for social and military needs.

The more our way of life is based on the assumption that security is in materiality, the less safe and assured we will be. On the other hand, the stronger our understanding of God, Spirit, grows, the more perceptive we will be about how to move society steadily through very unstable and threatening times.

Those who love the Bible will remember time after time when people were saved - both individually and collectively - not because they relied primarily on matter, but because they trusted the security of Spirit. There's beautiful evidence throughout the Bible that Spirit is omnipotent, almighty. As we really love God from this point of view, we will find ourselves acting wisely when it comes to decisions about national security spending.

The Psalmist reminds us of the source of our strength: ''Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.'' n1

n1 Ps. 44:5-7.

And just who are our enemies? If we're engulfed in materialism, the tendency is to see enemies as other people. But the more we turn to God and recognize Spirit as the only power, the more we begin to see that an enemy is the opposite of Spirit; it is a materialized state of thought. Fear, intolerance, hatred, aggressiveness - these are enemies. How does defining the enemy in this light enhance our national security? The more we love one God, Spirit itself, the freer we are from such false gods as fear or aggression.

You might wonder if it's honestly realistic to think that one individual can do much in terms of the direction of an entire nation. It certainly is realistic. It's realistic because God is the source of all intelligence; He provides each individual with limitless capacities. An understanding of this eternal metaphysical truth can have major implications in your life. Moses was a clear example. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states, ''Moses advanced a nation to the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter, and illustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed by immortal Mind.'' n2

n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 200.

Here is a man who literally ''advanced a nation.'' He set an example of ''the grand human capacities'' that every individual receives from divine Mind.

None of us should limit or underestimate what we can contribute to the national security. A truly significant contribution will be our increasing conviction that Spirit is the only genuine power. The more clearly we understand this fact and demonstrate it in our own lives, the more difficult it will be for nations themselves to act from the basis that power comes from materiality. Power stems from God, Spirit. It is the Christ, Truth, that reveals this profound fact in consciousness. A surrendering to God's power can change the course of one's life - and contribute to the direction of his nation. DAILY BIBLE VERSE God hath spoken once; twice I have heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Psalms 62:11