"Improve Your Time"

George Shaw Cook

The error of wasting valuable time is exposed by Mrs. Eddy in her article, "Improve Your Time," on page 230 of "Miscellaneous Writings," in which she says, among other things, "Three ways of wasting time, one of which is contemptible, are gossiping mischief, making lingering calls, and mere motion when at work, thinking of nothing or planning for some amusement,—travel of limb more than mind."

One way in which Christian Scientists are sometimes led to waste valuable time is in yielding to the temptation to gossip. Occasionally those who are otherwise creditable workers make this mistake. They seem not to have seen the error of this sort of thing, for had they seen it as error, they would have avoided it. Thus, those who would never think of passing or even attempting to pass counterfeit money are apparently quite willing to pass along, and thereby keep in circulation, counterfeit concepts of others. We should be too alert and too wise to indulge in so foolish and hurtful a pastime. If any such "spurious coin" comes to us, we should put it out of circulation immediately. There is no other right or scientific thing to do.

Sometimes a student of Christian Science makes the mistake of believing it excusable to voice error about himself just because he is talking to one who is also a Christian Scientist. It is possible that the one to whom the error is voiced would be alert enough and wise enough to deny the error mentally or audibly, and so; put an end to it. It is also quite possible that he might temporarily accept it as real; and in that event, there would be two persons believing a lie instead of one, thus making a bad matter worse.

Under ordinary circumstances a Christian Scientist should not voice error about himself or about anyone else. The only time an alert Christian Scientist would be justified in voicing error about himself would be when seeking help from a Christian Science practitioner or other fellow student of Christian Science. Then it would generally be helpful to tell what the belief is, in order that it might be handled more intelligently and successfully; but in describing disease needlessly, one runs the risk of making it appear more real, thus adding to the difficulty of correcting and destroying it with Truth.

As with disease, so with other forms of discord. It is a mistake to tell one's troubles unnecessarily and indiscriminately to others. There may be certain persons with whom one would be justified in discussing one's difficulties, but to talk about them promiscuously to anyone who is willing to listen is a serious mistake.

It is often unwise to tell our problems to friends and others merely for the purpose of asking advice. In that way one sometimes succeeds in getting only a number of conflicting human opinions which, generally speaking, are valueless. What one needs, when there is a problem to be solved, is not human advice but divine guidance. Therefore, if a student does not succeed in solving the problem alone, he should go to someone who will be likely to turn him to divine Mind for help, and who will aid him in seeing that it is not a question of what to do so much as it is a question of what to know. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, . . . and it shall be given him." "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

In turning unreservedly to divine Mind for guidance, the student puts himself mentally on the side of all the power there is, the only power there is. Then he finds that everything is in his favor, and nothing against him. And our Leader has said on page 264 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being."

We have just crossed the threshold of a new calendar year which should be full of progress and achievement for earnest workers. Is it not opportune for all who are students of Christian Science to resolve more fully to improve their time?

George Shaw Cook

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