Article July 15, 1911 Issue

THE ONLY AUTHORITY

I. J. COPENHARVE.

St. Paul, out of his own wonderful experience, wrote: "To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey," and the writer's own experience in overcoming the tobacco habit not only proved the truth of Paul's declaration, but was beneficial later in overcoming other bad habits and false beliefs.

For some months after having overcome the moderate but regular use of liquor, through the application of Christian Science, it was felt to be desirable also to let go of the use of tobacco. At first, not having personally grasped Christian Science sufficiently, it seemed easiest to give up smoking and retain chewing in order to satisfy the craving for the weed. For a time it worked, to the extent that the chewing of tobacco became more and more continuous; but the habit became more annoying, and at length smoking was again taken up in order to get rid of it. Finally, after working back and forth from the one habit to the other, a seemingly happy thought was suggested by mortal mind,—the victim would overcome both by substituting gum. This was taken up and continued until the jaws refused to respond. Then the thought came: What difference is it to me whether it is tobacco or gum? One is just as much a dictator as the other; I did not have dominion; I was under subjection, and to what? If gum and tobacco could command the almost entire attention, how could one expect to declare his dominion over greater things?

Here I began to see that I must first use the grain of truth already given and assert dominion over that which seemed foremost in the seemingly long line of dictators. Working from this point, the rest was easy, and it is now over two years since the writer has been in bondage to any of the habits mentioned. He saw the necessity for heeding the warning given on page 405 of our text-book, Science and Health, where we read: "Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, ... Choke these errors in their early stages, if you would not cherish an army of conspirators against health, happiness, and success."

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