Editorial May 14, 1955 Issue

TRIFLES AND THE LITTLE FOXES

Harold Molter

In the study and practice of Christian Science the student usually accepts without hesitation the great basic facts of this religion. He grasps in some measure the truth that God is Spirit; that He is infinite, eternal, and perfect; and that man is the pure expression of Spirit, coexistent and coeternal with his creator. And he glimpses, as a result, the important fact of the nothingness of matter and evil.

The acceptance of these and other basic truths, though it may be sufficient to earn for the student the name of Christian Scientist, leaves much for him to learn. There are still many footsteps for him to take to prove his understanding of the truth in daily living. In a communion address to The Mother Church, Mary Baker Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 123), "Seeing that we have to attain to the ministry of righteousness in all things, we must not overlook small things in goodness or in badness, for 'trifles make perfection,' and 'the little foxes ... spoil the vines.'" In the practice of Christian Science one cannot avoid the trifles and the foxes. Success in this religion requires that we bring, step by step, every thought into obedience to Truth. It requires the application of honesty, consistency, purity, and intelligence in all relations. Just as the builder finds it necessary to follow the blueprint minutely, so the Christian Scientist holds before him the pattern of Christlike living as taught and demonstrated by Jesus and explained in Christian Science. Without attention to trifles, great things are never truly achieved. And, as Mrs. Eddy points out, one must also remember that "the little foxes ... spoil the vines." One must ever be alert to detect the many suggestions of error which seem to operate to interfere with or to tear down the progress which we all desire.

Trifles and little foxes: "small things in goodness or in badness." How can we learn to develop and utilize the truths of Christian Science daily, to build securely on the foundation of Truth, and to discern and overcome the evils which would hinder our progress? One method, in addition to earnest and systematic study of the truths of Christian Science, is prayer and self-examination. Let us watch our thoughts carefully for a period of one day to see how often we identify thought with the facts of spiritual existence and how often we identify it with that which is unlike Spirit. This is a good exercise for any Christian Scientist who wishes to progress.

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