Editorial August 12, 1933 Issue

Unlabored Activity

W. Stuart Booth

"The tree of the knowledge of good and evil" mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis is nothing other than the false claim of so-called material sense that good may be found apart from God, Spirit, the one and only creator, and that evil is real and has ability to bestow both pleasure and pain. The fruits of this tree of false knowledge appear to be many and varied. With some of these fruits their evil nature is obvious to observant people, whereas others are presented under the guise of good or as being necessary to the happiness and success of men.

The educated beliefs that men live in and of matter, that each one has a mind of his own which is resident in brain and is finite and fallible; that health, strength, and ability are dependent upon so-called physical conditions—these beliefs naturally engender a sense of limitation and uncertainty culminating in fear. In the endeavor to combat and overcome these self-imposed fears and limitations, men have not only come under a sense of strain and stress, of pull, push, and pressure, but they have also actually developed so-called high pressure methods of thinking and acting which are pernicious in their influence and effect, and sometimes are avowedly dishonest in design and purpose. This is more generally recognized now as one of the fruits of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" against which men need to be warned, and from which they need to be delivered.

Christ Jesus saw men straining under the lash of human will, conflicting desires, and fears, and so he voiced a compassionate call to all mankind in these words: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me. ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The vital meaning of these words was exemplified in the life and works of the Master. The yoke to which he referred may be regarded as his demonstration of man's unity with God, his Father and our Father; and it was this which made his burden light.

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"Tell us plainly"
August 12, 1933
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