Editorial October 2, 1943 Issue

Bringing Forth the New and the Old

Evelyn F. Heywood

A number of people spend their days in being busily idle. Perhaps as many are engaged in being lazily busy. Mary Baker Eddy has described the former on page 230 of "Miscellaneous Writings." where she writes, "Rushing around smartly is no proof of accomplishing much." The second is not always so easy to diagnose and may be more deceptive to others, if not to oneself. He who having much to do does it mechanically, without vigor, enthusiasm, alertness and inspiration, may be continuously occupied, but spiritually he is idle.

It is said that indolence is the sleep of the mind. Men will throw themselves almost savagely into mountainous technical routine, into organization and planning, yet the industry of Spirit is unknown to them. They live according to habit and routine, within the circumscribed limits of duty and desire. On the other hand, how true it is that the slothful and fearful make difficulty the pretext for inaction or delay. Admirably do we have it summed up for us in Proverbs: "The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets."

On page 8 of her Message to The Mother Church for 1900. Mrs. Eddy writes: "Our Master saith to his followers: 'Bring forth things new and old.' In this struggle remember that sensitiveness is sometimes selfishness, and that mental idleness or apathy is always egotism and animality." Here Mrs. Eddy makes it clear that the command of Jesus to bring forth things new and old, to maintain the spiritual facts already made manifest and to add to them in progress and demonstration, demands a struggle. In this struggle there will continually be the temptation to believe that things difficult and dangerous are to be avoided, that there is some kind of lion in the street, with slaying intent.

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