Article March 13, 1909 Issue

TRUTH'S CONVINCING POWER

MARTHA SUTTON-THOMPSON.

When stating to others the facts of divine Science, it is a great mistake to feel under personal obligations to convince our hearers immediately of the truth, beauty, and beneficence of what we are saying. Too often there is a tendency to do this, and if we seem to fail of our purpose, there follows a sense of having labored in vain, and the disappointment which ensues is discouraging to further work. We should remember, first of all, that whatever is seemingly accepted by others on account of any personal influence of our own has not become a conviction in the other's consciousness and will drop away in time. The seeming power of human will is mesmerism, and its effects are but temporary. Divine Science is the true status of Christianity, and if true Christliness reigns in the heart and beautifies the character with unselfed love, we shall feel what we say, and that is our mental part in the matter.

Truth is absolute good, and if the hearer is in conscious need of this good and is willing to accept it, his ears will be open to understand it, also its self-evident verity and promised blessing for him constitute its power of conviction; therefore the "word" should be spoken with the peaceful consciousness that it will convince, not by the will of man, but by the power of God.

We sometimes create for ourselves much unnecessary mental striving, disappointment, sense of failure and self-condemnation if we consider that we have accomplished nothing unless our hearers are evidently convinced by what we have said. Our part is to live and to give out that mental influence which characterized Christ Jesus. Doing this, we have accomplished all there is for us to do. Of course this giving out is to be not merely in words, but in deeds. In love and in wisdom we add to our words such help as our fellow-men need of us. The closeness of our walk with infinite good will endow us with insight to detect the real need, and delicacy and wisdom in deciding whether we are ready to minister to the need, as well as the best way to do this.

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