Editorial August 6, 1932 Issue

Composure

Duncan Sinclair

What a valuable asset is composure, that calm state of consciousness which is the very antithesis of the apprehensive or fearful condition of thought accompanying lack of poise! People differ greatly in this regard, many of them being often ill at ease and restless, while others, as a rule, are self-possessed, calm, at peace. It cannot be doubted that the former class would be glad to find themselves among the latter, for well do men know the advantages attached to composure.

How is lack of composure to be accounted for? What is the reason for an apprehensive state of thought? Unquestionably, it is due to the fallacious belief that evil is real. Mortals believe in evil, believe that it is as real as good, believe that it possesses a power which can nullify the effects of good; and before this belief in the reality and power of evil they stand in fear. And as fear gets a hold on men their composure, their poise, their calm, proportionately vanishes. Indeed, fear always tends to produce a paralyzing effect, rendering its victim inactive, and reducing his capacity for useful service. So long as it is in evidence the one who entertains it will be restless, fretful, or inharmonious, and in the degree that it possesses him he will lack the ability to help others regain the desirable state of composure or calm.

Since the apparent cause of fear, with its attendant restlessness, dispeace, and lack of poise, is the belief that evil is real, how can the error be met and destroyed? Christian Science designates the way. What does this Science teach about evil, belief in the reality of which causes fear? It declares unequivocally that evil is unreal; that evil in its every seeming form is unreal. But, someone may say, how can Christian Science teach the unreality of evil when it appears to be so rampant among men? Christian Science reasons thus: God is infinite good. Since He is infinite good, there cannot possibly exist as reality anything the opposite in nature to good. Therefore evil is unreal, having neither actual presence nor actual power. By acknowledging that God exists without an opposite and by perceiving that evil is utterly devoid of reality, presence, or power, Christian Science enables its students to rely on God with the whole heart. And this reliance on God secures for them the peace for which men long. As it is written in Isaiah, chapter twenty-six, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

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