Article January 13, 1917 Issue

Error Corrected by Truth

HON. FRANCES PORTER

On page 259 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says that divine Mind "corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results." This lesson was brought home to me one evening when I was watching my two children playing with picture blocks, of which they had four complete sets, also eight extra blocks belonging to other sets. The children were finding some difficulty in piecing together their pictures, so to simplify matters I removed the eight odd blocks. They managed to make three complete pictures, but after some unsuccessful efforts to make the fourth one the little boy looked up and said, "Mama, I cannot make this picture; give me the wrong bricks, that will make it easier." I explained to him that if I gave him what he called the "wrong bricks," it would add to his difficulties just eight times; that what he needed was more patience and thought. The children then persevered faithfully a little longer, and were rewarded by seeing the blocks placed right.

I could not help thinking how like this is to our human problems. A difficulty arises; perhaps we do not meet it as quickly as we would like, and in our impatience we think this or that material remedy would be a help, whereas really it only adds to our confusion. If we are sick, it is because we still believe that matter has the power and intelligence to be sick; if we take medicine to alleviate our sufferings, we are further believing that matter has even greater intelligence to cure that sickness, but we have gained nothing toward the correct solution of the problem of health.

If an individual when in sorrow or trouble turns to drink or drugs for consolation, he is forgetting that the "Spirit of truth," the Comforter promised by our Master, is always at hand to comfort and save to the uttermost. By turning to material means for help, the individual has in reality but added to his discomfort, and to his own sorrow perchance has added the sorrow of loved ones. If we are angry and try to appease our wrath by revenge instead of annihilating it by love, have we in any way lessened the sense of anger? No, in all these byways of error, even as the baby boy with his "wrong bricks," we have added by just so much to our own difficulties. There is always the right way, God's way; and again, just as working with the right blocks alone was the easiest way for the children, so to work out our problems in God's way alone is the quickest, easiest way to reach the peace "which passeth all understanding."

Send a comment to the editors