WE sometimes hear it said by an individual who is asked to change his thought or his attitude in life, "I cannot do it." And when asked why he cannot make the change, he replies, "That is the way I am." He is convinced that because of conditions connected with his birth, environment, nationality, education, or age, he has grown into a certain mold and cannot change his mode of living.

Such an attitude is a form of mental slavery, which hinders the progress of individuals as well as of nations, and the Christian Scientist needs to be alert to this evil claim of aggressive mental suggestion. The statement, "That is the way I am," or, "I cannot change my mode of thinking and living," is often the equivalent of "I am satisfied with myself and my lot and don't want to change it."

The experience of the Apostle Paul refutes the claim of the carnal or mortal mind that man is a creature of habit or of past experience.

Since he had been brought up in the traditions of the Pharisees as a rabbi and probably was a member of the Sanhedrin, his conversion to Christianity was considered miraculous. His whole life and attitude were changed. His conversion is considered a turning point in the history of Christianity, enlarging its borders and presenting it as a universal religion.

Paul did not say: "I cannot change my life," or, "It will take time for me to become a Christian." The record says that after his conversion he spent a number of days with the disciples, and then "straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God" (Acts 9:20).

There may have been questions which needed to be clarified in his thought, but from the moment of his conversion he was a different man. It was Paul himself who exhorted the Ephesians to put off the old man, to become renewed mentally, and to"put on the new man,which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (4:24). In witness of his changed nature, he was known by the name of Paul instead of by his earlier name of Saul.

One of the glorious truths which we learn in Christian Science is that man is the son of God, not the son of mortals; that he is the spiritual idea of God and dwells eternally in divine Mind; that he has inherited from this Mind its unlimited resources and capacities for good. This man of God's creating is the true individuality of each one of us.

The man of God's creation is not the creature of material circumstances or limitations of chance and change, of increase and diminution. He is heir to the fullness of God's love. A knowledge of this fact and the systematic refutation of the testimony of the material senses change one's whole outlook on life and open the way for the successful accomplishment of every worthy endeavor and the fulfillment of every sincere desire.

In her book "Miscellaneous Writings," Mary Baker Eddy tells us (p. 183): "Man is free born: he is neither the slave of sense, nor a silly ambler to the so-called pleasures and pains of self-conscious matter. Man is God's image and likeness; whatever is possible to God, is possible to man as God's reflection." And later she adds, "As many as do receive a knowledge of God through Science, will have power to reflect His power, in proof of man's 'dominion over all the earth.' "

Whenever one is confronted with a belief of limitation of any nature, he is immediately challenged to agree to disagree with the testimony of the material senses. He can then refuse consent to the suggestion, "That is the way I am, and I can do nothing about it." Remember that the nature of the patriarch Jacob was changed in one night through mental wrestling with the errors which confronted him and by holding fast to the angel thought of God's presence.

Does the carnal mind whisper that one's income is limited or that advancement in one's work is impossible? Does it say that certain advantages are not available to one because of lack of education or because of circumstances of birth or environment? Does it insist that because of inherited racial or national characteristics the individual is bound to act in a certain pattern which interferes with or entitles him to position or prestige?

In a letter which Paul wrote to the Galatians with reference to those who have accepted Christ, we read (3:28), "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

What, then, is the remedy for the inertia or resistance of the carnal mind to the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, eternal good? It is indicated in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where our Leader says in the following statement (p. 90): "The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea." And on the next page we read: "Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth."

We can begin this moment to reject the limiting suggestion, "That is the way I am," and say with Paul (Phil. 4:13), "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Harold Molter