Editorial April 20, 1918 Issue

Redeeming the Time

Annie M. Knott

No one would deny that well-directed effort is of vital importance to thinkers as well as to workers, and this recalls a statement in the epistle to the Ephesians, which reads, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." It is quite true that Christian Scientists no longer think of the concentration of energy in the way they once did, because this referred mainly to human effort at large, without much thought of its motive or quality. At the same time they have learned that they can never accomplish anything of value without directing thought constantly to the divine Principle of man's being. On page 457 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" our revered Leader says, "Christian Science is not an exception to the general rule, that there is no excellence without labor in a direct line."

A good deal is being said at present respecting waste on the material plane, and the importance of conserving time is also receiving consideration; but the student of Christian Science, whose aim is to work in accordance with spiritual law, knows that not a moment should be wasted in idle thinking. Christ Jesus said most unequivocally, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." We are well aware that the idle or the wicked thought must always precede the wrong word, and none knew better than the great Teacher that evil deeds were only the outcome of wrong thoughts. When Paul was writing his epistle to the Ephesians the time was indeed evil; sensualism, tyranny, and mad ambition were doing their worst to obstruct the mighty influence of Truth, which was reaching humanity through those who had accepted and were striving to demonstrate the teachings of Christ Jesus. There seemed to be plenty of energy on the side of wrong, and this may be said to characterize the present day as well; but we should never forget that the operation of Truth is unceasing, and the only question is how much of this we are realizing in the depths of consciousness, and how much of it we are expressing in word and deed.

It is an easy matter, perhaps, to think over the money spent in a given time, and to see where self-denial could have been practiced because of the world's great need; but a far more serious consideration is to see how often thought is allowed to drift into the byways of vanity,—of material nothingness,—when every thought might be and should be related to the demands of Principle, and thus made an important factor in the working out of the benign purpose of infinite Truth and Love. On page 504 of our textbook we read: "The rays of infinite Truth, when gathered into the focus of ideas, bring light instantaneously, whereas a thousand years of human doctrines, hypotheses, and vague conjectures emit no such effulgence." This passage is of tremendous importance to us at the present hour, because after all is said the one important consideration for Christian Scientists is to know how they can best aid in the establishment of God's kingdom on earth.

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