Article April 16, 1921 Issue

Getting Away from Things

E. R. BARAGER

IT is sometimes a matter of wonderment that there are so many people who fail to realize how much of their lives is utterly wasted in trying to "get away from things." Men and women who, both in business and social life, are even more than ordinarily successful, still carry with them daily this undefined sense of doubt as to the result of this or that venture, and plans are made that comprehend and provide for a chance to "get away," should certain, or uncertain, contingencies arise. That this unfortunate mental proclivity is not new, the result of environment or development, is plainly apparent, for you will remember that Job, in his extremity, complained, "The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." The fact of the matter, however, is that this concept of life has no justification in the Scriptures and is wholly without evidence to show that it should have a place in our experience. That the fears of mortal man can have effect upon the real man is absurd, however much those who have not yet attained to that measure of understanding which is their right and inheritance may accept and put their faith in such erroneous belief. The real man is spiritual and, as Mrs. Eddy has said in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 276), "Material beliefs and spiritual understanding never mingle. The latter destroys the former."

This idea of material escape also implies the getting away from, or the evading of, responsibility. It does not alone mean that one may put away, or escape from, all thoughts or elements of harm, but it opens, as well, the door through which may be admitted the errors of procrastination, neglect, and perhaps willful wrongdoing. To "get away," as the term is ordinarily used, will never accomplish the destruction of error any more than to flee from material danger will remove the danger. We may, to be sure, put ourselves for a time beyond the immediate influence or effect of some particular error or danger, but the elements of those conditions still remain. Nothing but the rejecting of error and the obliteration of fear from our thought through the unfoldment of divine Love and spiritual understanding will ever really bring us to that point where we can say with Paul, "I have fought a good fight."

The bookkeeper may force a balance in his accounts and delude himself, even for several months, with the thought that the error will not be revealed, but at last the discovery comes, bringing with it humiliation and punishment. So it is with the student of Christian Science who tries, even though it be unwittingly, by evasion or flight to escape from the consequences of error and sin rather than to meet discouragement and doubt fairly and openly upon the broad battle ground of righteousness and Christian endeavor. What, then, is the remedy? Shall we cower helplessly behind the ineffectual barrage of mortal thought and material delusion, or shall we advance step by step to where our every desire, being spiritual and holy, shall have its highest fruition, no matter how simple or how complex it may be? There is no chance for quibbling, no room for doubt, no getting away. In the words of Paul and John, "Now is the accepted time;" and, "Now are we the sons of God." It naturally follows, then, that since we may not avoid the consequences of error, we are entitled to rewards of right thought and Christlike living. As sorrow and pain inevitably come after disregard of divine law, so do satisfaction and joy follow perfect trust in and complete obedience to infinite Principle.

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