Article November 17, 1923 Issue

Spiritual Understanding

MAUD MILLER JOHNSTON

The most important thing that men can possess is spiritual understanding. From it flows all true thinking; and we know full well that action is but the result of thought. While enlightened thought expresses wisdom, erroneous thought leads to erroneous action. We see, therefore, that in order to work out our problems correctly, it is all-important to start from a right basis. Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 355), "Demonstration and spiritual understanding are God's immortal keynotes;" and again, on page 213, "As a man spiritually understandeth, so is he in truth."

All through the book of Proverbs the sage urges the necessity of wisdom, and exhorts, "With all thy getting get understanding; " and in the sixteenth chapter he tells us that "understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it." Now, all know what a spring is. It is a natural source of water. But a wellspring? Does this word not convey to us the thought of greater depth and endurance? The word "understanding" may be defined as spiritual discernment. So, spiritual understanding implies an unlimited supply of wisdom to man.

As a rule, mortals have a very limited, corporeal sense of God. They are quite willing to listen to the voice of material sense, and deify themselves. This brings them into trouble, and often to an untimely end. When they become imbued with the spiritual sense of creation they can discern material existence as illusion. Then the allness of God is recognized to be a certainty and a joy.

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