Lint-Free Living - Part 1
This article is about lint-free living. L I N T - free living. It’s about moving past bothersome lint. Sometimes you have to pick it off or flick it off. Some people use a lint-free roller that has sticky paper which gets rid of the unwanted lint. Other people use Scotch Tape to lift lint off clothing. We’ve even seen people use clear packaging tape to dispose of lint.
Oftentimes someone else will remove a piece of lint from your clothing. (”Oh,” they say, “you’ve got a piece of lint there, I got it! It was a piece of lint.)
No one likes lint on his or her clothing. We’re even going to ask you to stop picking lint off your clothing as you are reading this article.
Seriously, though, all of this L I N T discussion is raised to make a point. The L I N T - free living we are talking about is really an acronym which stands for Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking.
LINT is the type of thinking that spoils our consciousness and interferes with our spiritual walk. It’s the kind of thinking that negates our goodness and hides our Godness.
Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking comes from a consciousness of lack, fear, anger, and hopelessness. Individuals who have PhD’s in this kind of LINT say things like:
“I can’t do that!”
“I’m not smart enough.”
“I’m too out of shape.”
“I’ve been a failure all of my life.”
“I don’t have much to offer.”
“I don’t I can’t I’m not” These individuals wear their LINT like a badge.
In its lowest form, Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking expresses itself as racism, sexism, violence, gossip, envy, and jealousy. These types of LINT are caustic. They embed themselves in the fabric of our consciousness and are difficult to extract.
Difficult — but not impossible! The Hebrew Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego offers the formula for lint-free living. You may recall the story. It appears in the 3rd chapter of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.
It is the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are friends of Daniel. They refuse to worship the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar, and are cast into a fiery furnace. In an amazing turn of events, they remain untouched by the fire, and they are joined in the furnace by a fourth person. When the king realizes they have not been consumed by the fire, he allows them to come out and places them in high positions of power.
From a Unity perspective, this is what the story means:
King Nebuchadnezzar represents a condescending ego
Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image signifies our egotistical, supercilious nature
Shadrach is that quality within us that represents humility
Meshach symbolizes an unfailing love for the truth
Abednego means a high degree of spiritual understanding
4th person denotes the Indwelling Christ
Fiery furnace is the all consuming, destructive power of negative thinking which filters our life experiences
So what does the story mean for us? When we experience an intense, consuming negative outlook (the furnace), we tend to give power to outer appearances.
On the other hand, if we remember who we really are if we remain humble to the guidance of Spirit, stand solid in our unfailing appreciation for truth, and seek a deeper understanding of principle, we will obtain the guidance we desire from the Christ of us, that uplifting Presence within us.
We don’t need to fear anything. We don’t need to bow to anyone or anything, or to any form of Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking. We are divine beings that have phenomenal spiritual abilities and inner capacities that can empower us over any physical situation.