Article August 29, 1908 Issue

THE SIMPLICITY OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

WILLIAM LLOYD

It was the great Teacher who said, "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." Why do children come so easily and naturally into Christian Science? Is it not because Christian Science is the truth, and children have fewer errors to unlearn than adults? Christian Science declares that God is altogether good; that, therefore, He cannot and does not send anything but good to His children. Whence then is all the sin, sickness, and sorrow we see around us? Is it not because, through fear, ignorance, or sin, mortals have turned their backs upon God; refused to put any genuine trust in His power, and have set up for themselves other gods?

In the days when I was a member of an orthodox church, I was quite sure that to worship idols meant solely to pray to carven images of wood or stone. Now I know that an idol is anything in which we put more trust than in God, be it a box of pills or a bank account. The prophet Ezekiel says, "These men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face." (Note, "in their heart.") The First Commandment reads, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." What do these plain words mean? All of the wonderful promises in the 91st Psalm are dependent upon certain conditions; in the first verse it is "he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High" who is safe; and in the ninth we are told that "because thou hast made the Lord ... thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee." Does this mean the putting of our trust in man-made material devices, or does it mean the taking of the First Commandment literally?

The Old Testament account of the children of Israel is undoubtedly the history of a people, but it is also much more—it is the story of each one of us. Every time the children of Israel turned with complete trust to the Almighty God, and followed the leader appointed for that period, no matter how desperate their need or dismal their outlook they were triumphantly saved; while every time they turned their backs on God, and set up their own little gods, they were overwhelmed with disaster—perhaps not all at once, but surely sooner or later. So is it with us. No matter how desperate our circumstances, be it sickness of mind, body, or purse, if we truly look to God in the way so plainly pointed out by our appointed Leader, trusting wholly in Him while working honestly, faithfully, patiently, and unselfishly each day, our condition will surely change for the better, until we emerge into the full sunlight of the knowledge of His unchanging love and power, and find our feet upon the rock—secure and happy. But if we continue to put our trust in our own or our fellows' petty devices,—idols,—the results are equally sure, viz., discontent, unsatisfied longing, suffering, disaster. These may be seemingly long in coming, but come they will, and just in the proportion that we have worshiped and trusted in our idols. Paul says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." So, then, it is because the carnal or mortal man deliberately though ignorantly separates himself from God, good, that he experiences sin, sickness, and suffering.

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