A higher authority

Some people feel that if you want something done, you should go straight to the top. Cutting through red tape may be helpful at times, but measuring authority by human standards of position and power dims our appreciation of God, the Most High. Calling upon Him is always the right thing to do in any situation because God, divine Mind, is the highest authority obtainable.

Our family learned this some years ago when our son went into military service. He had volunteered to serve three years, with the agreement that he would be sent to a special electronics school.

But when the time came to attend the school, he was sent to another training camp, then to an engineering outfit. He appealed to the appropriate authorities, reminding them of the original agreement. But his effort to correct the situation proved futile. He became worried, and began to pray as best he knew how.

Meanwhile, in response to this apparent injustice, my husband appealed to the draft board and made other contacts, but all to no avail. Then he decided to turn to a higher authority, perhaps a congressman. Before he did so, however, a co-worker kindly offered to speak to a friend who held an important position at the Pentagon.

''Now,'' my husband told me, ''we'll get some action!'' At that time my husband was not a Christian Scientist, and although he had witnessed physical healings, he could not understand how prayer could help in this instance. While I was grateful to see that appealing to the top brass at the Pentagon had lessened his fear, I was not at peace.

The spiritual understanding of God I had gained through the study of Christian Science had shown me the importance of placing my trust in Him, and the fact that our well-being is not dependent on a person, no matter what position he may hold. I needed to pray, to get a clearer view of our son's place - not in the personal plans his father had for him, or in the impersonal plans of the United States Army - but in God's infinite plan.

Every morning for several weeks I prayerfully acknowledged the perfection and goodness of God. I knew, as the Bible indicates, that God is ever-present Love, infinite Mind, all-pervading Spirit. I realized that because God made man in His own image, man is actually a spiritual idea, forever in his right place in divine Mind, and that in reality injustice has no cause or existence!

I also had to humbly and steadfastly deny the false concept of our son as a mortal, victimized by man-made rules, beliefs, laws. Gradually I began to see clearly that because he was truly an idea in Mind, he was forever in his most productive, progressive, and fruitful place.

Soon I felt so at peace about the matter that I could rejoice in these words from Proverbs: ''Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.'' n1

n1 Proverbs 3:5,6.

About two weeks later our son called to say he was being transferred to an electronics school not far from home. When my husband looked up the co-worker to thank him for intervening on our son's behalf, the man admitted he had forgotten about the conversation and his offer to help.

This was a deeply meaningful experience for my family, for it showed us that when we trust in God, rely on Him, He does correct injustice and promotes what is best for all concerned.

''Suffering, sinning, dying beliefs are unreal,'' writes Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. ''When divine Science is universally understood, they will have no power over man, for man is immortal and lives by divine authority.'' n2

n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 76.

This divine Science, which reveals the law of Love, permeated the teachings of Christ Jesus and was the basis of his healing works. Jesus knew where the authority for these works came from - the one Almighty God.

Like the Master, we can trust in our heavenly Father, our nearest source of help, our highest authority. DAILY BIBLE VERSE It is better to trust in lthe Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalms 118:8