"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil" (I Thess. 5:21, 22). In these stirring words the Apostle Paul gives us a rule, demonstrable today, for the proper and full enjoyment of all of God's precious gifts. Health, joy, peace, harmony—all His blessings are ours eternally.

We can suffer no seeming disruption of Love's care if we steadfastly refuse to admit anything but good into our consciousness. Christian Science shows us how to shut out error by revealing the fact that, in truth, there can be nothing in creation but good, because God made all, and all that He made is "very good."

Paul, who became one of the greatest exponents of Christ Jesus' teachings, had to learn through tribulation the insidiousness of consenting to evil. He first comes to our attention under the name of Saul in the Bible narrative of the stoning of Stephen. It is recorded that the witnesses who brought about the death of Stephen "laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul" (Acts 7:58). Farther on, we read, "And Saul was consenting unto his death." Beginning with this passive consent, Saul later became actively involved in the persecutions of the Christians. In fact, he was a leader of their opponents until his enlightenment and conversion on the road to Damascus.

Evil's method of gaining a foothold is the same today as it was in Paul's time. We must be constantly on guard to see that we consent to nothing but good and that we deny any seeming power apart from God, good. No matter how involuntary an experience may seem to be, its development is evidence of consent which has been given, either knowingly or unknowingly. An erroneous experience indicates consent to a belief in a power apart from God.

By holding to divine Principle, Mind, as the only creator and the creator only of good, we can deny error power to enter consciousness, because it is only an illusion. But so insidious are the efforts of the carnal mind that the false concept, assuming a mask of personal goodness or of harmless error, insinuates itself into thought, and we find ourselves entertaining evil unintentionally. Unless detected and ejected, the indulgence of any degree of evil may bring acceptance of other errors.

The means of propagandizing the world today are vastly enlarged and widely used and keep before our eyes the possibility of disease and the material means of combating it. Our entertainment in radio, television, and other media is regularly invaded with pleas, including vivid descriptions, for material aid in seeking protection from and cure of disease. Also much entertainment and advertising accentuate the seeming pleasures of evil by depicting them in a smart atmosphere. Nor is it propaganda alone that attacks us. Daily conversation with persons who accept disease and mortal calamity, relating the effects of these for our consumption, calls for spiritual alertness.

Mary Baker Eddy warns us of the dangers of consenting to evil when she says (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 228): "Floating with the popular current of mortal thought without questioning the reliability of its conclusions, we do what others do, believe what others believe, and say what others say. Common consent is contagious, and it makes disease catching."

Our Leader also gives the antidote for any such supposed ability of evil to attach itself to man. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," she says (pp. 234, 2:55): "Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more harm than one's belief permits. Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence."

In the Bible we find mankind warned of the dangers of consent to evil. One of the first injunctions coming from Solomon is (Prov. 1:101), "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." The warfare with the flesh involves constant vigilance. Never for a moment can we cease to be on guard. We must be prepared at all times to reverse the unreal and untrue with the understanding of Love and Truth. No matter how infinitesimal the erroneous suggestion may seem to be, we must, like a sentry, deny it entrance. Only those ideas coming from divine Mind, which enable us to see our neighbors as ourselves— as actually harmonious children of God—should be admitted.

The blessing resulting from the refusal to consent to error was quite aptly illustrated in the experience of a very young student in the Christian Science Sunday School. Two of the children in a Christian Science family had succumbed to the contagious belief of measles. While the situation had been quickly met with Christian Science treatment, friends were aware that they had been sick. As another child in this family was playing on the lawn one day, a neighbor asked how her brother and sister were getting along, and then jokingly added, "Well, it will be your turn to have measles next."

She was somewhat taken aback when the child very confidently replied, "Oh, I'm not going to have them."

The neighbor, who was not a Christian Scientist, asked: "Oh, aren't you? Why?"

Then the child made this innocent reply, in complete faith and assurance, "Why, you know about God, don't you?"

Needless to say, the child was not afflicted with measles. While she did not have the understanding to state all the truths with which to sustain her simple statement, she had learned at home and in Sunday School that God is Love. She knew that a loving Father-Mother would not send a contagious disease to affect His children. She therefore did not have to accept this disease.

Recognizing no law but the divine, accepting no rule of action except good, expressing no thought which does not spring from God, good, we elevate ourselves above evil of any sort. Knowing that Love is ever in complete control, we see that truly we cannot hate or fear; that we are subject only to harmony and health. Inharmony cannot touch God or His idea, man. Discord is not a part of the creation of immortal Mind. Inharmony has no origin, foundation, or platform from which to operate.

Understanding that evil is nothing, we cannot be affected by it. Evil is illusion and has no power. It is harmless because it is not embodied in the divine plan. No matter what evil's disguise, it cannot touch the child of God, because he is armored with the might of eternal Spirit. Keeping our minds filled to overflowing with Truth and Love, we find that suggestions of evil can find no space in which to grow.

One recipe for meeting and mastering all suggestions of error is given to us by Mrs. Eddy when she says (Science and Health, p. 381): "Think less of the enactments of mortal mind, and you will sooner grasp man's God-given dominion. You must understand your way out of human theories relating to health, or you will never believe that you are quite free from some, ailment. The harmony and immortality of man will never be reached without the understanding that Mind is not in matter. Let us banish sickness as an outlaw, and abide by the rule of perpetual harmony, —God's law."