Article December 1, 1923 Issue

"GO forward"!

EMMA H. SAYLES

WHEN the children of Israel were being pursued by Pharaoh and his army, they were sore afraid and cried out to Moses that it were better to serve the Egyptians than to die. Then the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." They did go forward, and crossed the Red Sea in safety. There is no greater example of moral courage recorded in the Old Testament than Moses, who listened to the voice of God, obeyed, and went forward.

In our human experiences we, too, encounter Pharaoh and his army of personal sense, with their arguments of limitation, fear, greed, selfishness, and kindred qualities; and many times, like the Israelites of old, we are tempted to give up rather than fight to the overcoming of the enemy. Especially when wounded by another's seeming neglect, indifference, lack of love, ingratitude, injustice, or when misunderstood and maligned, we let the archenemies of discouragement and resentment into thought; but there is no surer or quicker way out of these difficulties than by learning to lift one's self up by going forward.

There is a race to be run, a prize to be gained; and with this in thought we can press forward, knowing that the really worthy person is he who surmounts obstacles, and keeps in view the one and only motive in life worth working for, namely, the overcoming of self, the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new. This task may at first seem difficult; but the most arduous part is usually the start,—getting self out of the way sufficiently really to live the truth. This battle won, the way out of the wilderness of mortal error, with its temptations and discords, grows less irksome and more gladsome each step of the way. Progress will be easier after the first false beliefs of materiality have melted away before the glorious reality of true being. With an ax we strike the hard surface of a tough tree trunk, making little impression to begin with. After a while a deep incision is made; and then the felling of the tree becomes easier. So it is with human beliefs. At first they may seem to resist the Christ, Truth; but once admit this angel-messenger, and it becomes easier to find lodgment for right thoughts, which, if entertained, will multiply until God's kingdom comes on earth "as it is in heaven."

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