Article November 12, 1955 Issue

IMPORTANCE OF CLEAR THINKING

EDWARD BURDETTE ELMORE

There is a difference between thinking about something and actually thinking something through. For example, we may deplore the indulgence of some particular sinful tendency, and we may feel very repentant after having yielded to such a tendency. We may even think about the nothingness of sin and the utter lack of any real pleasure to be derived from it. This is far from a thorough handling of the problem which requires a careful process of reasoning from the basis of the one Mind, God, to the conclusion that man in His likeness is not attracted by sensuality.

The student of Christian Science replaces the contemplation of any sinful tendency with the knowledge that the expression or reflection of God can entertain only thoughts which proceed from the divine Mind. As his consciousness is filled with the knowledge that man is spiritual, pure, loving, strong, intelligent, and inherently good, the sinful tendency diminishes and disappears into its native nothingness. Definite, careful thinking, supported by spiritual understanding, is required to dismiss evil from consciousness.

Similarly, we may think about the nothingness of a cold or some other inharmonious physical condition. But our mental attitude may be lazy, and we may put off definite work if the condition does not seem serious. We may think rather vaguely of God's allness and omnipotence, yet fail to determine whether or not we have been entertaining material sense testimony instead of marshaling all the truth we know and applying it to the specific claim of error. Actually thinking something through is making it our own. To think something through spiritually means to use the ideas of Truth which come to us to replace the error in consciousness with our knowledge of God and of His expression, man.

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