No more “dark side”

My first thought when I read a recent article about Reverend Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, confessing to his immoral acts was, “God bless the man.”

I think it is easy to condemn and judge someone like that for his wrong doing but my heart goes out to him especially because of something he said, “There’s a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life.”

If we are honest with ourselves we can all relate to that to some degree. Even St. Paul, another mega evangelist said, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Rom 7:19,20)

After a little more elaboration he ends with the declaration that Christ will save him from this inner raging war and impending doom.

Sensuality haunted me for a good chunk of my life and at times seemed overwhelming causing me to act out some of my hidden thoughts. This sensual thinking or “dark side” as Reverend Haggard called it must be destroyed or it will take us down.

Thanks to the Science of Christianity that Mary Baker Eddy discovered and wrote down in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, I was able to overcome or root out this demon completely so it had no more power over me.

Eddy explains in her book some specific steps that need to be taken to overcome this kind of evil. The first is to recognize the sin or evil and admit it, so it is exposed rather than hidden. I did this in recognizing and admitting to myself that I was indulging in sensual thoughts and fantasies.

The next step is to realize the fact that this evil is really not a part of our true spiritual nature, which is our only real nature as made in the image and likeness of God according to Genesis 1:26, 27. God is good only and so are we as His creation or image. Therefore evil is an imposition and only has the seeming power or reality that we give it.

The next step is to recognize that there is no real pleasure in sensuality or evil. All one has to do is take an honest look at what you gain by mentally or physically indulging sensual thoughts or acts, whether it involves eating, or taking drugs, or drinking alcohol or violence etc. and you come to the conclusion that it doesn’t bring the pleasure it promises but rather more pain and darkness. What this does is to uncover evil’s real nature and wakes you up to how you are being used.

As I did this and admitted to myself the pain and darkness and depression actually caused by a few moments of indulging sensual fantasies the lure of it began to fade away. This I found to be the most important step in the process to completely find my freedom from indulging in sensual thoughts.

Another important step along with these other steps is true scientific prayer that acknowledges the grace and power of God in our lives to overrule any evil suggestions or attempts to lure us away from our God given purity and innocence.

This grace, or divine influence always active in our lives, is the Christ that Paul was speaking of that provides the spiritual light that saves from the darkness of mortality.

Eddy sums it up in this sentence from Science and Health, “The real man being linked by Science to his Maker, mortals need only turn from sin and lose sight of mortal selfhood to find Christ, the real man and his relation to God, and to recognize the divine sonship.”

It is a great feeling to feel free from any “dark side.” Anyone can do it.

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