I knew a man who worked every night until about one
o’clock in the morning. He paid no attention to his two boys
or his wife. He was always too busy working hard. He thought
people should pat him on the back because he was working so
arduously and persistently past midnight every night He had a blood pressure of over two hundred and was full of guilt,
Unconsciously, he proceeded to punish himself by hard work
and he completely ignored his children. A normal man does not
do that. He is interested in his boys and in their development
He does not shut his wife out of his world.
I explained to him why he was working so arduously,
“There is something eating you inside, otherwise, you would
not act this way. You are punishing yourself, and you have to
learn to forgive yourself.” He did have a deep sense of guilt. It
was toward a brother.
I explained to him that God was not punishing him, but
that he was punishing himself.
For example, if you misuse the laws of life, you will suffer
accordingly. If you put your hand on a naked charged wire,
you will get burned. The forces of nature are not evil; it is
your use of them that determines whether they have a good
or evil effect. Electricity is not evil; it depends on how you use
it, whether to burn down a structure or light up a home. The
only sin is ignorance of the law, and the only punishment is the
automatic reaction of man’s misuse of the law.
If you misuse the principle of chemistry, you may blow up
the office or the factory. If you strike your hand on a board,
you may cause your hand to bleed. The board is not for that
purpose. Its purpose may be to lean upon or to support your
feet.
This man realized that God does not condemn or punish
anyone, and that all his suffering was due to the reaction of
his subconscious mind to his own negative and destructive
thinking. He had cheated his brother at one time, and the
brother had now passed on. Still, he was full of remorse and guilt.
I asked him, “Would you cheat your brother now?” He said, “No.” “Did you feel you were justified at the time>” His
reply was, “Yes.” “But, you would not do it now?” He added,
“No, I am helping others to know how to live.”
I added the following comment, “You have a greater reason
and understanding now. Forgiveness is to forgive yourself.
Forgiveness is getting your thoughts in line with the divine law
of harmony. Self- condemnation is called hell (bondage and
restriction); forgiveness is called heaven (harmony and peace).”
The burden of guilt and self-condemnation was lifted
from his mind, and he had a complete healing. The doctor
tested his blood pressure, and it had become normal. The
explanation was the cure.