Article September 27, 1919 Issue

Spontaneity

E. OLIVE DAVIS

THE writer recently found herself referring rather frequently to spontaneity as a quality of man's thinking. It one day became necessary for her to explain to some one just what she meant by the term, and this led to more thoughtful consideration and study of the word. She was interested to find among other definitions the term "self-activity." Some thought along this line was very illuminating. If spontaneity were a desirable mental quality, how could it be defined as self-activity? The answer came: Man has no self apart from God, the one Ego, the great I AM; for, as Mrs. Eddy says on page 183 of "Miscellaneous Writings," "asserting a selfhood apart from God, is a denial of man's spiritual sonship; for it claims father." Real self-activity for man then means the reflection of God-activity. This was the explanation; here was the source and spring of spontaneity,—a willingness to let God declare Himself through His idea.

The example set us by Jesus, the Way-shower, came at once to mind. He said; "I can of mine own self do nothing." "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works," "I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, speak these things." Even the ignorant and worldly-minded who delivered Jesus over to the rulers, bore witness to the power of his words, for they said of him, "Never man spake like this man." Think of the ease, the freedom, the inspiration with which he taught. His lessons were not read, nor based upon anything previously prepared and carefully thought out, so far as we can judge. Objects which were at hand served him as illustrations,—fishing nets, fig trees, mountains, vineyards; and as for his delivery, did not his listeners' hearts burn within them? All this and more was the content of what he spoke and of which the Master himself said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Think of it! His words were spirit and life, were the expression of God through His Son.

It is of course a belief of separation from God which makes men timid, fearful, and restrained in thought, speech, and act. Curiously enough we say that this mortal, limited, finite self is self-depreciatory; but this is really only the old argument of the serpent in its effort to depreciate God's perfect selfhood and His perfect manifestation by claiming the existence of an evil mind and a man separated from his Maker. It is to be noted that one of the results of such timid, fearful thinking is manifested in such strict adherence to the letter of Christian Science that the freedom and spontaneity of the spirit are lost sight of. Lacking divine inspiration, treatment becomes mere argument, and church work is concerned with fulfilling only the letter of the law; yet Paul has said, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

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