Cancel the band

When, as the plane was taking off, the mischievous military transport commander radioed the control tower the three short words, “Cancel the band,” he was pretty sure what the effect of that order would be. And he was right. The control tower would assume there was a VIP on board – which there wasn’t – and protocol dictated that a VIP needed to be met upon arrival by a band. When the tower asked, “Wait, who’s on board?” the commander remained silent. Without further information, the people in charge of arranging a band to greet a VIP picked the solution least likely to get them into trouble if there was, in fact, a VIP on board. When the aircraft arrived at its destination, the crew was met with – you guessed it – a band!

Do we ever find ourselves obeying an order that was never given? We may feel it’s obvious that we wouldn’t do so. But is it really that obvious? What if we’re not talking about the orders given by a person but the “orders” dictated by circumstances? For example, if we’re exposed to what is commonly believed to be a highly contagious disease, accepted rules regarding health would dictate that we get sick. But do we have to obey?

Christian Science answers, “No!” starting from the very basic premise that God is the only creator and the only lawgiver. The Bible tells us that God created all and created it like Him, wholly good (see Genesis 1). His sons and daughters – each of us in our true, spiritual being – reflect Him, are His image and likeness. God did not create evil; therefore, evil was not created and thus cannot possibly have law or authority behind it.

Of course, then, God also doesn’t send evil. The discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote, “Instead of God sending sickness and death, He destroys them, and brings to light immortality. Omnipotent and infinite Mind made all and includes all. ... God does not cause man to sin, to be sick, or to die” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 206).

It’s useful to remember this when we find ourselves thinking, “I’m sick or injured because (pick one!): a) I was working too hard, b) I didn’t sleep enough, c) I didn’t keep my distance from that contagious person, d) I inherited this problem from my parents, or e) I had an accident.” There is no authority that can force us to accept evil as any part of our experience. Instead, God gives us authority over sin and sickness.

Once, I was in the middle of a horrible week – I had too much to do, and on top of it all, I was sick. I turned for inspiration to that week’s Bible Lesson-Sermon from the Christian Science Quarterly, which included the story of Elisha being saved from the Syrian army (see II Kings 6:8-23). The story ends with the words “So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” I found myself thinking hyperbolically and self-pityingly, “Yeah, well, I’ve got the bands of Syria surrounding me right now!”

At that moment, the story about the aircraft commander, which I had heard from a friend, popped into thought – especially the only actual order the commander had given: “Cancel the band!” I laughingly realized that I could cancel my metaphorical Syrian band, too. More importantly, I realized, there had never been an actual order inflicting that “band” on me in the first place.

I had been praying, but now I felt I was really understanding the truth of myself – and everyone else – as the creation of God, divine Love. I saw clearly that health is our natural state because we reflect God’s infinite goodness. We cannot be overwhelmed, because there can be no imbalance between the task at hand and our ability to accomplish it. Love provides all of the resources we need to take care of every right duty, and to do so with joy. With those thoughts, the illness vanished, and I was able to get everything done that I needed to do.

We are all VIP’s in God’s sight because we are His expression and have dominion over everything unlike Him. He forever supplies us with strength, capability, health, and holiness. Anything in our thinking that says we’re faced with a problem over which we have no authority is a “band” we can cancel. After all, no one ever ordered it to begin with!

Adapted from an editorial published in the June 22, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.