Article December 11, 1915 Issue

Protection

OLIVE ALLISON

The Bible many instances of God's protecting power made manifest to His children. Shadrach, and Abednego were miraculously delivered from the fiery furnace into which they had been cast. God saved the children of Israel from the plagues, guided them through Red Sea, and protected them from their foes until they were brought into Canaan. Daniel, through the jealousy of rivals for the king's favor, was thrown into the den of lions; but the king's prophecy, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee," was fulfilled.

Like those of olden time we need protection from trials and afflictions as we journey from Egyptian darkness and bondage to the land of light and freedom. Like Daniel we need salvation from the lions of material sense. Whence shall come deliverance? Where shall we find security? Too often have we thought that safety was to be found in matter instead of in Spirit. We have trusted the inanimate drug to deliver us from sickness. Immunity from poverty, so we have thought, depended upon large bank account. In our journeys across the sea we have placed our confidence in the strength of the ship; traveling by land, we have relied upon the care, judgment, and intelligence of mortal man. Yet drugs have failed to heal; banks have failed to meet their obligations; strong ships have sunk; the so-called intelligence of mortals has been insufficient to protect from accident. With reliance placed in materiality we have been assailed by dangers and calamities of all kinds. Christian Science teaches that failure to secure protection always results from ignorance of God and of the true laws governing man and the universe. We must grow out of this ignorance and gain a higher understanding of God and His laws. God is not the author of disaster, for He is the creator of good alone, and His laws must express the activity of that infinite Love which blesses with holiness, health, and life. The realization of this protects us from sin, disease, and death. We must think lovingly about God and man. The Bible says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Thus doing we merit protection. That Daniel served not only his God but his fellow man continually is shown by his words to the king, "Before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." Our thought too must be that of constant service to both God and man. To serve God continually is never to admit that there is a power apart from God; to recognize His ever-presence; and above all to prove that we do so by placing reliance upon Him in every hour of need.

We serve our fellow men continually when we are active channels to help and protect each other, thus reflecting God's desire to bless His children. This does not mean that we are to protect error. True protection is the destruction of error and the conservation of good. We help our brother to work out his salvation by being free from all prejudice, unjust criticism, or condemnation, and by recognizing ever the real and perfect man. On page 210 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" Mrs. Eddy writes: "Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited."

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