Article February 25, 1911 Issue

THE ARMOR OF GRATITUDE

VIOLET KER SEYMER.

There are moments when one is tempted to believe that fear and discord are besieging one very closely, moments when one's "Get thee behind me, Satan," is too feebly uttered to be of immediate avail, and indeed when it may sound more like an expression of fear that error may prolong its unwelcome visit. Perhaps the Christian Scientist has faithfully handled every aspect of the case as he sees it, and yet has not succeeded in dispelling the mist of false belief. May it not be said that in these moments gratitude is found to be the hyphen connecting human consciousness with its deliverer, divine Mind? When such baffling midnight experiences come, it has often been found that sheer gratitude for past blessings scatters the error all in a moment. Let the student try the experiment of dropping every other argument and line of thought and declaring with David, "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments." It is just this righteous judgment that delivers the sick and the sinning from their bondage, and we do well to trust it as an infinite power available for each.

The effect of this gratitude, begotten of past blessings quickly enumerated in memory, is to engender confidence and banish the ghost of fear and apprehension. The entrance of divine Love at the same time provides the exit for fear, and harmony is restored. At midnight, in the inner prison, their feet made fast in the stocks, Paul and Silas rose above their false sense of environment and sang praises to God. The result of this unquenchable joy and gratitude was that they were immediately released. Escape from sickness and sin can be just as immediate. When the present hour does not seem to hold any cause for gratitude, it is well to remember that the God who is without "variableness, neither shadow of turning," is at that same moment blessing all creation without a single second's interruption. We have but to break away from the evidence of the physical senses and claim for ourselves or another the harmony which is always just at hand.

Homage and gratitude form part of the tithes which we are to bring into the storehouse incessantly, even in the darkest hour. So doing, we shall most effectively turn the tables on error and rise above the delusions of material sense, since it is evident that gratitude can neither suffer nor be afraid. Not the least delightful part of the disciples' midnight experience was that the other prisoners heard the unaccustomed sound of singing, and it must surely have given their thoughts another direction. How often has it been found that the individual, apparently made a prisoner in his body, has heard from the lips of another the account of his healing through Christian Science, and has at once felt his own heart leap with hope at the prospect of a similar release! Although good has now become such a natural factor in our lives, we should never take even a little blessing for granted. In what mortal belief calls "a dark hour," grateful recollection of past needs met often meets the present sense of need.

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