Article October 6, 1928 Issue

Tillers of the Soil

CHRISTINE H. BEALS

No one looks for a harvest from ground that has not been tilled. Acres that have long lain void and barren do not bring forth a glad harvest of grain or fruit. And in order to reap we must first sow. Just how bountiful the harvest will be depends on the amount of intelligent labor and effort put into the project. If we are in earnest about reaping a harvest, we shall begin with the ground that is to be tilled; and however rocky and sterile it may be we shall find a way to overcome these conditions, and shall begin by removing the rocks and stones from the ground. We will not listen to the argument that these rocks have been a long time in this place, and that it will be a laborious effort to get them out of the way.

Rocks not only encumber the ground where they lie, but they prevent one from cultivating around them; and they will certainly be in the way at harvest time. So, whether it be a cumbersome rock or a less large, slippery stone, there is but one right thing to do with it, remove it from the field. In cultivating and enriching soil, what it is best to add to it will depend on the condition of the soil; and it is a chemical fact that if the proper fertilizer is used, it will give to the soil that which will tend to make it more productive.

With a fine insight and true understanding Mrs. Eddy wrote, "In the soil of an 'honest and good heart' the seed must be sown" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 272). It is no more possible for a mortal, clinging to and loving a material sense of existence, to manifest an "honest and good heart" than it is for barren, untilled soil to be rich and productive. The tiller of the soil must be active and industrious. He has set himself a task. He breathes the freshness of the morning, and approaches the dew-wet earth with strength and vigor. And he who is desires of cultivating true spirituality will, in his first conscious moments in the morning, listen for the voice of Truth, and humbly ask that his consciousness be filled with divine wisdom. Worldly ambition takes small place in this work; but sincerity and industry are necessary.

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