April 2005 ~ Good
A few weeks ago the Daily Word affirmation was this: “I open my thoughts and my life to divine solutions. Good will come of this.” I was struck by the power of those last five words: Good will come of this. As I “pondered them in my heart,” I began to think, as I have before, about the word “good” and to ask, as I have before, what it really means.
When I was a child I learned to say a table grace that began, “God is great and God is good.” I don’t recall giving these words much thought, but I’m sure that if I had been asked about them, I would have said, “Great and good are words that describe God.” And I would have been correct. However, when I encountered the Unity teachings, one of the first things I was taught was to say this prayer, “There is only One Presence and One Power, in the universe and in my life, God the Good.” Gradually, I began to understand the word “good” as being more than an adjective. I began to see it as a noun, a synonym for God and related to that for which we pray when we ask for our “highest good.”
Both Charles Fillmore and Ernest Holmes define “good” as: The Absolute; the Incomparable; the Reality, of which evil is but a transitory opposite (EH); an enduring consciousness of good, in which evil disappears as darkness before light (CF). This helps me understand the synonymic relationship of “good” and “God,” but it doesn’t satisfy my desire to know what I am really affirming when I sing, “Oh, my good is everywhere, manifesting now!” (I’ve been hanging around these ideas long enough to know it doesn’t mean just “pleasant, fun stuff.”)
As happens for me so often, I find clues to the treasure when I turn to the inspired work of another great man, Noah Webster. (Incidentally, I just went online to refresh my memory about this man and his incredible contributions to American education. Wow!) Tucked away in Webster’s considerable references for “good” I find these two significant phrases… “conforming to the moral law of the universe” and “contributing to the advancement of health or prosperity.”
Something in me sings when I read these phrases for I find that by simply lifting the word “moral” to “spiritual,” I have what I am looking for. “Good is that which conforms to the spiritual law of the universe and advances health and prosperity.”
When we affirm “highest good” for ourselves or for others, this is it! What else is there? When we realize that “health” and “prosperity” are both comprehensive words containing everything else, we can see that nothing is left out. What can you possibly desire that isn’t included in one or both of these words? So, how does it work?
Example: I’m driving down I-80 and I see a two car collision being cared for by the side of the road. As I drive by, I bless the situation and call forth the highest good. What am I affirming for them? That out of what appears to be chaos and even tragedy, health and prosperity (and all that these contain within them) will result.
On September 11, 2001, many of us prayed for “highest good” in the face of unimaginable disaster. This prayer does not pretend, it does not ignore the human loss and suffering, but it holds to the truth that “Good will come of this… even this.”
Another example: You are standing on a corner in your life and uncertain about which way to go. You affirm “highest good” and set off in the direction that seems to make sense. As you remember that it is your intention to live for God and to express health and prosperity in all your choices, you realize that whatever way you turn, “highest good” is possible. You also know that with your intention clearly in mind, you will be guided to what is most right for you right now.
Praying for “highest good” is the best way to pray when we do not know how to pray, when outcomes are uncertain, when “right and wrong” are not helpful concepts, when nothing makes sense to the human heart and mind. Praying for “highest good” is the best way to pray every morning when we face a day that is yet to be lived. Praying for “highest good” is another way of “letting go and letting God” carry us smoothly, safely, and successfully towards our Good. Whatever today holds for you, remember: Good will come of this.
jbm
(a fun website: www.lifeisgood.com)
When I was a child I learned to say a table grace that began, “God is great and God is good.” I don’t recall giving these words much thought, but I’m sure that if I had been asked about them, I would have said, “Great and good are words that describe God.” And I would have been correct. However, when I encountered the Unity teachings, one of the first things I was taught was to say this prayer, “There is only One Presence and One Power, in the universe and in my life, God the Good.” Gradually, I began to understand the word “good” as being more than an adjective. I began to see it as a noun, a synonym for God and related to that for which we pray when we ask for our “highest good.”
Both Charles Fillmore and Ernest Holmes define “good” as: The Absolute; the Incomparable; the Reality, of which evil is but a transitory opposite (EH); an enduring consciousness of good, in which evil disappears as darkness before light (CF). This helps me understand the synonymic relationship of “good” and “God,” but it doesn’t satisfy my desire to know what I am really affirming when I sing, “Oh, my good is everywhere, manifesting now!” (I’ve been hanging around these ideas long enough to know it doesn’t mean just “pleasant, fun stuff.”)
As happens for me so often, I find clues to the treasure when I turn to the inspired work of another great man, Noah Webster. (Incidentally, I just went online to refresh my memory about this man and his incredible contributions to American education. Wow!) Tucked away in Webster’s considerable references for “good” I find these two significant phrases… “conforming to the moral law of the universe” and “contributing to the advancement of health or prosperity.”
Something in me sings when I read these phrases for I find that by simply lifting the word “moral” to “spiritual,” I have what I am looking for. “Good is that which conforms to the spiritual law of the universe and advances health and prosperity.”
When we affirm “highest good” for ourselves or for others, this is it! What else is there? When we realize that “health” and “prosperity” are both comprehensive words containing everything else, we can see that nothing is left out. What can you possibly desire that isn’t included in one or both of these words? So, how does it work?
Example: I’m driving down I-80 and I see a two car collision being cared for by the side of the road. As I drive by, I bless the situation and call forth the highest good. What am I affirming for them? That out of what appears to be chaos and even tragedy, health and prosperity (and all that these contain within them) will result.
On September 11, 2001, many of us prayed for “highest good” in the face of unimaginable disaster. This prayer does not pretend, it does not ignore the human loss and suffering, but it holds to the truth that “Good will come of this… even this.”
Another example: You are standing on a corner in your life and uncertain about which way to go. You affirm “highest good” and set off in the direction that seems to make sense. As you remember that it is your intention to live for God and to express health and prosperity in all your choices, you realize that whatever way you turn, “highest good” is possible. You also know that with your intention clearly in mind, you will be guided to what is most right for you right now.
Praying for “highest good” is the best way to pray when we do not know how to pray, when outcomes are uncertain, when “right and wrong” are not helpful concepts, when nothing makes sense to the human heart and mind. Praying for “highest good” is the best way to pray every morning when we face a day that is yet to be lived. Praying for “highest good” is another way of “letting go and letting God” carry us smoothly, safely, and successfully towards our Good. Whatever today holds for you, remember: Good will come of this.
jbm
(a fun website: www.lifeisgood.com)
