Lessons In Truth - Lesson 3 - Annotation 9
Is God responsible for keeping our thoughts right? If He is not, who is?
9. God is not responsible for keeping our thoughts right. This responsibility lies with each of us, God created us sons, in His image and after His likeness. The ability to think is a gift to us from Him which enables us to use the ideas that are our divine inheritance.
If God were to take control of our thinking in the sense that we have no alternative, we would not be the free-will beings He created. First of all, we would not be free to choose our thoughts, nor, secondly, would we be free to assume the responsibility for what we have thought, both of which are privileges of our birthright as sons of God.
The teacher explains to the student the rules for working a problem, but he does not do the work for him. He knows that only as the student develops his own talents and abilities can he become proficient in the use of the ideas or principles involved. God is the source of rich ideas on which we are to think and when our mind is open He guides us in the right use of these ideas, but He leaves us free to form our own thoughts or concepts about them. If we turn often to God in prayer, we learn the principles or ideas on which to base our thinking, just as the student of mathematics or of music learns the principles on which his work is founded.
What we think and how we think is of course, very important. What and how we think affects the way we feel, and these two actions indicate visibly how we are using or directing the creative power of God. We are learning that every thought projects a form, or produces an effect, so in our freedom to think we make our own concepts about God, about ourselves, about others, and about our world in general. These concepts, by the law of mind action ("like begets like"), produce effects in our body, our affairs, our world, that correspond to the character of our thoughts (concepts).
Preceding Entry: What is the direct road to spiritual attainment?
Following Entry: Do we have to beseech God for the fulfillment of our desires? Why? Does God change?