Mankind steadfastly cling to what they believe to good, and never willingly submit to evil or the results of evil. If in his blindness one clings to evil, it is because he believes there is good in it. If he submits to evil, it is because he knows of no way of escape. A discordant condition is never desirable, and no one is content to abide therein. It is true that the effort made to get rid of discord, many times only results in greater confusion; but this is because mortal man has a false sense of existing conditions and is ignorant of real causation. Nevertheless, his desire to escape is sincere, and doubtless he would do better in a majority of cases if he only knew how.

The desire for peace and harmony is well-nigh universal. If there appear to be those who find satisfaction in strife and contention, this is but a flickering sense, and by no means an abiding consciousness. We believe it can be truthfully said that all men wish to be at peace. The desire is not always strong enough to inspire the effort that is necessary to achieve success, but it shows that the human heart turns naturally to good. If mortal man seems to be more prone to evil than to good, doubtless it is because no effort is required to drift into evil, while, from the human point of view, a great effort is required to pull against the current of erroneous belief and gain the consciousness of good.

The great Teacher said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In Science and Health (p. 390) Mrs. Eddy writes, "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." We thus learn from this word of Scriptures, as interpreted in Christian Science, that to know God and obey His law is the only way out of discord, the only way to lasting peace and enduring harmony.

When Job was sorely tempted to complain because of the hardness of his lot, Eliphaz the Temanite said unto him, "Acquaint now thyself with him [God], and be at peace." Later, when Job had learned to rejoice in the spiritual fact of existence, he declared, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee." It is recorded that this higher understanding of God brought to Job greater peace and harmony than he had ever known, and his earthly possessions were increased a hundredfold.

Jesus once said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Earlier in his ministry he had said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." There is a false peace, a sense of harmony and security in mortal belief, which may seem to satisfy, but it cannot long endure. Concerning this false sense of safety the prophet wrote, "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." It was Jesus' purpose to provide a full salvation from evil, hence it was necessary to point out the false belief which was at peace in error. To false sense he "came not to send peace, but a sword." His teachings, and especially his demonstrations of Truth, so disturbed false consciousness that he at first encountered the bitter opposition of the people, who little realized how great was their need of what he had to give them. Those who were not "at ease in Zion," but who truly hungered and thirsted after righteousness, heard him gladly, and they gained "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding." With this peace came healing,—the healing of sickness and sin. Many rejoiced that they were made "every whit whole," and were no longer in bondage either to sin or the infirmities of the flesh.

The peace which Jesus promised to his disciples is for all mankind, for there is no respect of persons with God. Isaiah caught a glorious glimpse of this peace and how it is to be attained. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee," was the prophet's message of loving assurance. Here it is clearly set forth that if one would enjoy the peace "which passeth all understanding," thought must be stayed on God.

From the human point of view there are many things to disturb one's peace of mind, but fear seems to have the most power to rob us of a sense of harmony. There is the fear of disease and suffering, of losing earthly possessions, of want, of unseen troubles, and greatest of all, the fear of death. The burden of anticipated troubles is far heavier than the load one feels called upon to bear today. Some one has said that it is only when tomorrow's burden is added to that of today that it becomes unbearable. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," was the wise counsel of him who taught men to love God and live in the present.

To the extent that one's thought is stayed on God, he lives in good, and the only possible effect of good is harmony. It is always an error of mortal belief which produces discord,—it matters not what may be the manifestation thereof or what may appear to be the immediate cause,—and the effectual remedy is that which will correct the evil. There is but one remedy for error, and that is Truth. It follows that in every instance the first and all-important requisite is for one to see that his thought is stayed on God; it matters not what it is that seems to cause him to suffer. Most persons have learned from experience that things from without have little power to disturb when harmony reigns within, and many have learned also that outward things do not have the power to produce or maintain a sense of harmony that most people believe they have.

Christian Science presents the true idea of God and teaches how to keep one's thought in harmony with divine Principle. The kingdom of God is universal, eternal harmony, and it includes nothing that can result in or produce discord. When thought is stayed on God, it is lifted above the material sense of things, and it cannot be disturbed by mortal belief, which is the only cause of inharmony. One has no sense of darkness when he walks in the light, neither can he be conscious of discord when he understands that the things of Spirit are the eternal and only reality of existence.

If we really desire to be at peace, we should give earnest heed to the counsel of St. Paul, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace." The things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, lead to peace, while the opposite errors of mortal belief produce discord and suffering so long as they are indulged. The only way to escape the consequences of evil is to cease in dulging in evil, and the only way to gain the health, happiness, and harmony which endure, is to "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Finally, "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

Copyright, 1914, by The Christian Science Publishing Society