Article October 16, 1937 Issue

Acquiring Balance

FANNY DE GROOT HASTINGS

Everyone desires to be considered a well-balanced person. Even Job prayed, "Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity." To this end the human mind suggests all sorts of formulas, negative as well as positive. It says, for instance, Exercise the mental and physical equally; develop no one side of the nature to the neglect of another; avoid fanaticism, religious or otherwise; and so on, indefinitely. But the so-called human or mortal mind can give no consistent rules for the bringing about of perfect balance. Dependent alone upon itself, we find it frequently confused by contrary opinions, whereas abiding in Truth we can make constant and direct headway.

Actually, if we attempt to place any portion of matter or material thinking in the imaginary opposite scale to that of Spirit, we shall at once lose our balance, so to speak, for we cannot bring about harmony by pitting false values against true, the unreal against the real. Man cannot overdevelop his spiritual nature, since, as the reflection of God, that is the only nature he possesses, and it is forever unfolding, awaiting our recognition. For our added assurance Mrs. Eddy has written (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 280): "You have come to be weighed; and yet, I would not weigh you, nor have you weighed. How is this? Because God does all, and there is nothing in the opposite scale."

In Proverbs occur these words: "A just weight and balance are the Lord's." This statement establishes the only possible foundation for spiritual equilibrium. Since the belief of being unbalanced in any degree whatsoever is the result of being personally self-centered, the recipe for poise is to be spiritually God-centered, that is, to center thought on God and His creation. And Christian Science is awakening us to abide more constantly, that is, with greater awareness that we are so doing, in Truth, Life, and Love, the center of all true being, giving God, good, all our allegiance, and in equivalent measure experiencing spiritual peace and poise. The "double minded man," who is "unstable in all his ways," is but the suppositional material opposite of the real man.

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