The Decision for Guiltlessness P 15, 16
The Decision for Guiltlessness P 15, 16
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
III. The Decision for Guiltlessness P 15, 16
15. Seek not to appraise the worth of God’s Son whom He created holy, for to do so is to evaluate his Father and judge against Him. ²And you will feel guilty for this imagined crime, which no one in this world or Heaven could possibly commit. ³The Holy Spirit teaches only that the “sin” of self-replacement on the throne of God is not a source of guilt. ⁴What cannot happen can have no effects to fear. ⁵Be quiet in your faith in Him Who loves you, and would lead you out of insanity. ⁶Madness may be your choice, but not your reality. ⁷Never forget the Love of God, Who has remembered you. ⁸For it is quite impossible that He could ever let His Son drop from the loving Mind wherein he was created, and where his abode was fixed in perfect peace forever.
16. Say to the Holy Spirit only, “Decide for me,” and it is done. ²For His decisions are reflections of what God knows about you, and in this light, error of any kind becomes impossible. ³Why would you struggle so frantically to anticipate all you cannot know, when all knowledge lies behind every decision the Holy Spirit makes for you? ⁴Learn of His wisdom and His Love, and teach His answer to everyone who struggles in the dark. ⁵For you decide for them and for yourself. (ACIM, T-14.III.15:1–16:5)
Seek not to appraise the worth of God’s Son whom He created holy…
This phrase grabbed me because I was just discussing the situation in Minneapolis with a friend. We were talking about how to see this, how to respond to it, and what our part might be. Most people know about the killing of Renee Goode, who was shot in the head by an ICE Agent. And this morning, I read about a family who was simply trying to go home and were caught between protesters and ICE agents. They were teargassed, and their 6-month-old baby stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. They were all hospitalized.
We were wondering what we could do to help in a situation like this. Our conversation ended with one thing certain. We can keep our own minds as clear of fear and hate as we can. We can pray for everyone concerned: those who are protesting and those who are resisting the idea of protests. But we cannot feel less love and concern for the ICE Agents. We will not seek to appraise the worth of God’s Son, whom He created holy. The ICE Agents and every person involved are part of God’s Son and are holy.
I have been learning to think in these terms for a long time.
But lately, I feel like I am taking a high-level course in forgiveness and love. Every day seems to offer me an opportunity to assess my progress as one more awful thing is reported in the news. I sometimes find myself falling head-long into fear, other times sinking into anger. Either way, I lose awareness of my holiness as I move farther from love. So, I do what I always do: I forgive, and I ask for guidance out of the chaos of my confused mind. I receive help, and I am once again at peace. I long for the day when peace is consistent, and love is all I find in my mind, and so I keep moving in that direction.
…for to do so is to evaluate his Father and judge against Him.
The rest of that first sentence describes the consequence when we seek to appraise the worth of God’s holy Son; we are at the same time evaluating his Creator. This, of course, causes us to feel guilty, but the guilt is without cause because we cannot replace God with ourselves. What cannot happen cannot be a source of guilt. We are innocent after all. Let us do the sensible thing and allow the Holy Spirit to make all decisions for us.
Say to the Holy Spirit only, “Decide for me,” and it is done.
This is so simple that the ego in its complexity will completely fail to grasp it. I have always been drawn to this statement, but have not, until now, seen a way to live it. In the past, I would say the words, “Holy Spirit, decide for me,” and would wonder why nothing happened. Why wasn’t my problem solved, or weren’t some wise words given to me that would lead to the desired outcome?
I see that I didn’t say only decide for me. In my mind, I added more. I had already decided what I wanted His decision to be, or at least what it would lead to. And I also wanted to reserve the right to return to my own decisions once I felt on firmer ground. It wasn’t enough to say decide for me and trust that. I would say help me make the right decision.
I’m learning a different way now. I am surrendering decision-making to the Holy Spirit. Not just once but always, and not with all those caveats but completely. I have no idea what needs to happen now or ever. Nor do I know what is in my best interests; I only know what I think I want to come out of a situation. I’m still in the stage of making this habitual, so I have to remind myself often that I want the Holy Spirit to decide for me.
It is proving to be easier than anticipated.
I suppose that is because I no longer need to be convinced that I need help. I am tired of the struggle to work everything out when I have so little truth to go on. The Holy Spirit has all knowledge at hand and wants only the best for me. Of course, I want His wise counsel. The Holy Spirit will decide for me and, in doing so, decide for everyone —because minds are joined, and decisions are never private.