Article August 12, 1939 Issue

Our Real Need Is Spiritual Substance

FLORENCE I. EDWARDS

Because the real man is spiritual, all he needs is the substance of Spirit, God. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 301), "As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter." Let us ask ourselves, Do we really wish for the substance of Spirit, or do we yearn for merely material possessions? If our longing is for matter, we err. The Bible says, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

In our feeble understanding of the joys of Spirit, this may seem hard to see; but if there seems to be a lack of the necessities of human existence, then our thinking needs to be changed from mere material desires to more spiritual aspirations. By thinking Godlike thoughts one gains the true idea of substance and matter becomes of less importance, increasingly being seen as unreal. When we entertain a false sense of substance, we tend to close our thoughts to proofs of real substance, which is eternal.

To make this practical in our human affairs, less thought should be given to things material—clothes, food, and houses. We should try to realize that in reality man is clothed in righteousness and fed spiritually. If we are knowing that we live in Spirit, and that our real home is a state of consciousness wherein dwell peace, joy, and contentment, we shall be less fearful of losing our temporary homes by fire, flood, tornado, or airplane attack. Thoughts of hate, fear, malice, and greed are not substantial, and are therefore powerless. As we hold in thought the perfect idea, we are freed from fear, doubt, debt, or burden of any kind.

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