On Resisting Evil

Duncan Sinclair

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you," writes James in his epistle. The words of the apostle are free from ambiguity: they state definitely that when evil is resisted it will cease to tempt us. Now, every mortal is tempted by evil, by that which claims to exist as the opposite of good; and how often mortals fall before temptation into sin! The greater part of the world's suffering is the result of giving way to the temptations of evil; for sin indulged carries with it its own penalty—despondency, despair, remorse, sorrow, disease, death. Mortals are aware of these things; and many of them are eagerly seeking for a means whereby they will be able to resist evil, and so be saved from the consequences of indulgence in evil.

There are many who, having seen the effects of sin, have tried to resist temptation through so-called human will-power. They have determined to think only good thoughts; but too often the decision has been of a very temporary nature; for with perhaps the next suggestion of evil, their good resolution has been swept away and they have gone down again into the mire of iniquity. They thought they had will-power enough to enable them to stand fast, but it proved wholly unequal to the task. The wonderful thing, however, is that no matter how often men fall away from their ideals, there is that within them which demands that they rise again, and that they conquer.

What men need to aid them in resisting the suggestions of evil, and to get away from evil should they fall under its influence, is Christian Science. This Science shows that the tempter is always some lie of material sense. Every sinful impulse or desire has its seeming origin in material sense, that so-called sense which suggests that matter is real and that it has intelligence, sensation, and power. But, as Christian Science teaches, since God, Spirit, is infinite, All-in-all, matter—Spirit's opposite—is unreal. Consequently, that which is called matter, being an unreal concept, has neither intelligence, sensation, nor power. As this is seen one is proportionably able to offer scientific resistance to temptation.

It will be obvious from what has been said that temptation can only seem to come to one whose thought is not stayed upon God, good. It is instructive to note that after the words quoted at the beginning, namely, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you," James writes, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." And how true it is, as the Christian Scientist knows, that the desire or prayer for good is never unanswered! Let him who is afraid he will fall into temptation gain an understanding of God's allness, a knowledge of God's unlimited, unfailing love and infinite goodness; let him allow his thought to dwell on these truths until they become part of his consciousness, and what will happen? To the extent of his understanding he will enter "the secret place of the most High," where sorrow, suffering, sin, disease, and death are unknown.

Christian Science shows that mortals have to be as watchful of the temptation to be sick as of the temptation to sin. A strange point of view, surely, someone unacquainted with divine Science may say; for is not disease largely, if not wholly, beyond the mental control of men? Christian Science makes it clear that disease in its every form is mental in origin, and that it can be controlled by right thinking even at the incipient stage, when it may rightly be regarded as a temptation. Times without number Christian Scientists have warded off sickness by regarding it as a temptation to believe that God, good, is not infinite. They have affirmed the truth of God's allness, and denied intelligence, sensation, and power to matter; and disease has not then come upon them.

Christian Scientists do not make any boast of their resisting of disease or sin. Gladly they admit that the good they are able to demonstrate has to a great extent been made possible by the understanding of God they have gained through Christian Science. Obedience and consecration to revealed Truth, coupled with prayer, will enable anyone to resist the temptation to sin, just as they will enable anyone to resist the temptation to be sick or diseased. Thus does Christian Science bring hope of deliverance to the captives of material sense. Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 420), "Instruct the sick that they are not helpless victims, for if they will only accept Truth, they can resist disease and ward it off, as positively as they can the temptation to sin."

Too long have mortals believed in the inevitability of sickness and sin; too long have they been blinded by the falsity of evil. Christian Science is making a world-wide appeal to men, inviting them to consider its profound yet simple truths, that thereby they may rise above evil's temptations and enter into the enjoyment of a far fuller measure of health and happiness than they have previously known.

Duncan Sinclair

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July 27, 1929

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