The Enemy

Have you an enemy who has done you a great injustice? Did he snub you, did he lie about you, did he do a lot of things right while he was sup posed to be governed by the truth? Has he made long speeches, or raised a finger of rebuke when another spoke in language which he did not consider scientific and then in his own way acted a thousand times worse? And have you secretly cherished the thought that he would be punished, in fact have you not rather rejoiced in the thought that justice would sometime overtake him; and in your thinking have you not pictured justice as working out into some material difficulty? If you have you had better stop it right away quick. You had better rid your mind of the thought that there is anything “awful” that can overtake him if you do not want that “awful thing” to overtake you, for remember this: whatever you make a reality of for him first becomes a reality for you, and if you think that because of his hy­pocrisy he could be overcome with some malignant disease, then unconsciously you are giving power to a thing called disease, and it can from that moment attack you. 

Yes, I know you do not hate him that is you do not want anything but justice done. He did you a great injustice, yes, in every court in the land they would say he did you a great injustice; that goes without saying, but do not bring into your own life the law which you wish to operate in his. If you recognize and acknowledge that the law of justice is sure to bring discord to your enemy, then how can you hope for the law of justice to bring anything else to you. 

What I want to bring to your remembrance is that you cannot think evil for another and good for yourself; this would be a house divided against it­self and it would surely fall. 

You must stick to singleness of purpose, single­ness of thought and singleness of idea. Acknowledge good, hold to it, and refuse to acknowledge even the appearance of evil and just in the proportion that you do this will evil become a nonentity for you. Once you realize the oneness of Mind your eye becomes single and your whole body is full of light. This singleness of eye, or consciousness, is a glori­ous life. It is the WHITE life which is clear as a crystal, spiritual, loving, joyous, and pure. 

“I know only good, I see only good, I hear only good.” When you are grounded on this basis you will find that having acknowledged no evil laws operative for your enemy, no evil laws can operate from your enemy to you. You fear nothing. There is nothing to be avoided. You are a master. No person, place, time or circumstance can in any way disturb you. You move on, impelled by the single light which is constantly blazing forth. You are not concerned what so and so thinks, what so and so does, or says. You are concerned only with yourself. You are not afraid of any situation, for having wiped out the law of punishment you have wiped out a great fear that has been dormant within you. 
There is nothing to fear.

There is nothing to oppose. 
        There is nothing to oppose with. 
        There is nothing to be dismayed at.

There is no person that is greater or more im­portant than you. You need not fear their manner, their position, nor their power. 

There is no power that is formed against you that shall prosper. Because you are at-one with the single lighted Mind, you recognize nothing to fear, to harm, to oppose. You are so closely allied with Good that evil does not come within the vista of your life.

But what are we to do-let them sin and not ex­pect them to be punished?

Sin is ignorance, no matter what form it takes, whether it be murder or whooping cough. It is all of the same mistaken quality called mortal thinking. It is ignorant in every way, and ignorance shall have its school master. You can recall the price of education, how you labored to acquire the alphabet, the multiplication tables, etc. Ignorance has its school master; that is enough. The school master will bring about the change in the easiest way possible, and the best for all concerned. Yes, the school master will bring it about so “fret not thyself”-adopt for your motto, “What is that to thee-follow thou me.”

Oh, take this unto yourself, say it over every time you are tempted to criticize; to offer sugges­tions; to rebuke; or to feel sick. Let it ring in your heart until you image forth the Christ for it is His voice bidding you away from the mortal chaos; listen to Him, obey Him. 

Dearly beloved, “What is that to thee, follow thou me.” Resolve from this minute that you will make this a part of your life, and you will find it sweetening existence more than all sorts of justice which you might wish to see meted out.

 

Walter C. Lanyon