Article April 22, 1939 Issue

The Seventh Commandment

[Written Especially for Young People]

BARBARA D. WILSON

WEBSTER'S dictionary defines the verb "to adulterate" in part as follows: "To make corrupt or impure by adding new, strange, or foreign elements." The seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," has for the Christian Scientist a profound and vital significance, for it warns him against admitting to his consciousness any thought which is foreign to Life, Truth, and Love. Such a process of exclusion deprives him of nothing that is real or good, for anything foreign to God is necessarily unreal and powerless to bring one either pain or pleasure. Chastity of thought, on the other hand, is mirrored in the student's daily living, in ever-unfolding good, opening unlimited possibilities to him, broadening his vision, enlarging his talents, and leading him forward to higher and holier attainment.

In view of the glorious results which follow obedience to the divine demand for purity, how foolish and insignificant are the importunities of mortal mind!

What would be thought of the farmer who sowed wheat in his field and then deliberately planted burdock seeds among the grain? What would be the verdict passed upon a worker in any line of endeavor who weakened his own work, either deliberately or carelessly, and thus thwarted his own success? His foolishness would be self-evident. So the success of the Christian Scientist depends upon the constructive quality of his thought; and foolish, indeed, is he who adulterates his thinking by entertaining mental images which are sinful and destructive.

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Light in the Prison
April 22, 1939
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