Safety and the nuclear threat
How many bombs, missiles, and other weapons will it take to make the world a safe place? More? Fewer? None at all? The search for answers to these questions is urgent and widespread, involving defense experts, government officials, and any number of concerned citizens from every walk of life. As far-reaching as the arms race debate is, however, it often fails to address a fundamental issue - the question of where man's real safety lies.
The Bible offers many insights to those hungering for a sure and lasting sense of security. ''I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust,'' sings the Psalmist in the comforting ninety-first Psalm. ''Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.'' n1
n1 Psalms 91:2, 5, 6.
These are more than just soothing words. They are a promise of protection based on divine law, on the spiritual fact of an all-powerful and all-loving God , good. The evidence reported by the material senses would insist - sometimes quite convincingly, indeed - that our security depends on governmental policies and complex defense systems. But in the deepest sense it depends on God, our creator. Man's real being, his true selfhood as created by God, is eternally safe because it is in God, Spirit, in unthreatened peace and harmony. This isn't an abstraction with little relation to reality. It's practical truth. Throughout the ages, to the degree that individuals have turned to God for protection in menacing circumstances, they have experienced deliverance.
The Bible records many such instances, including the safe passage of the children of Israel as they fled Egypt pursued by the Pharaoh's men; the protection of the virtually unarmed shepherd boy, David, who slew the mighty warrior, Goliath; and, most important, the triumph of Christ Jesus, who proved life to be safe - unchanged - even through the experience called death.
A vital part of seeking security in God is striving to understand that because God is infinite Spirit, all-knowing Mind - who has made man in His image and likeness - He is, in reality, the Spirit and Mind of all. In this truth we find, and can begin to demonstrate, the divine basis for resolving conflict. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states: ''It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established.'' n2
n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 467.
Turning wholeheartedly to God and basing our trust on Him may seem un-realistic - even naive - in these times. But the Bible assures us, ''The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? . . . It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.'' n3
n3 Psalms 118:6, 8.
Developing in daily life an unwavering reliance on God doesn't mean that human governments, policies, and weaponry will suddenly become unnecessary. But it does mean we will be helping to establish a wise and unshakably safe foundation for international deliberations. And because man's God-ensured security is an infinitely applicable, eternal truth, we will find that in proportion as we accept and understand this truth, it will be manifested in ever-widening circles: beginning in our own lives, then reaching out to community and national affairs, and ultimately embracing the governance of the world we share with all mankind. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Nation shall mot lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Isaiah 2:4