Editorial January 28, 1911 Issue

"GUARD THE LIPS"

Annie M. Knott

The psalmist prayed, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips," and surely without divine aid no mortal can avoid doing himself harm through unguarded utterance. Christian Science has come to teach humanity the power of Truth declared, otherwise the power of the word of God; and as this is recognized, the belief so long entertained by mankind, that evil is power, begins to disappear, with the ill effects which attend the belief. In Christian Science great emphasis is laid upon the potency of silent prayer, which means communion with God and the declaration, on our own behalf or that of others, of the might and majesty of God's law. These silent utterances of truth bring our thoughts and all their activities into conscious harmony with good, and establish health where it seemed to be absent because unrecognized. We cannot too often remind ourselves that "the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him," a sweet assurance often quoted by our beloved Leader.

Students of Christian Science should never forget that the only true foundation is the understanding of the divine allness, and the necessity of building thereupon; not the "wood, hay, stubble" of mortal opinion, but the enduring facts which represent divine Principle and its harmonious activities. To know these is of more importance than all the wisdom of this world, and to declare the truth of being, when thought is prepared to receive it, calls for "the wisdom which is from above." Christ Jesus warned his followers against casting pearls before swine, a warning which is too often unheeded at the present day, while our text-book tells us that "no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be molded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds" (Science and Health, p. I).

Even in respect to the voicing of good undiscriminatingly, we need to guard our lips; but when it comes to the voicing of evil, no one is supposed to be in doubt as to what is the right thing, yet how few there are who could boldly face an enlightened conscience and plead innocence in this respect. How few there are who are actuated by the sentiment which Arnold so beautifully expresses when he says,—

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