"AGREE WITH THINE ADVERSARY QUICKLY"
In the Sermon on the Mount, our Master, Christ Jesus, admonished (Matt. 5:25 ), "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him." After quoting this verse, our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 390 ), "Suffer no claim of sin or of sickness to grow upon the thought."
The adversary, the carnal mind, is the suppositional opposite of immortal Mind, God. The presentations of this adversary for acceptance or rejection go on constantly. To recognize quickly on which side human thought is aligned and to make instant choice on the side of God in spite of material appearance require persistent effort, spiritual awareness, and mental alertness.
If we concede power or presence to any phase of sin. disease, or death, we are accepting false testimony and are not claiming the truth of being. We are consciously or unconsciously denying the all-power of God, good. This is not in accord with Christian Science, which acknowledges God as supreme, and evil as obsolete and unreal.
In presenting the suggestions of evil for acceptance, the adversary is too subtle to say in so many words, "Deny God." Apathy, carelessness, self-satisfaction, and self-love lower the standards of thinking and dull sensitivity to good. Thus one's ability to recognize error quickly and to reject it is weakened.
How can one keep consciousness at the standpoint of spiritual perception and agreement? Through prayer, which is the desire to know and to express God's will. As one prays, he recognizes the danger of accepting false evidence and learns how to hold every thought up to the standard of spiritual creation, stated thus (Gen. 1:31 ): "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." This standard shows what is to be accepted as the truth of being and what is to be rejected as illusion.
In the quietness and serenity of prayerful thinking, we find that thought correction becomes increasingly a part of daily experience. As one agrees only with reality, Truth overcomes the lie; Love annihilates hatred and criticism; harmony replaces dissension and disease. In Science and Health we read (p. 261 ), "Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts."
Christian Science teaches that agreement with God's goodness and disagreement with material sense testimony bring the solution to human problems. If the imposition is one of limitation or restriction, we can through prayer refuse it a place in consciousness by knowing that God's bounty and freedom are always at hand. There is Biblical authority for this stand (Ps. 116:7 ), "The Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."
If the picture presented is one of distress or disease, we can deny its actuality by acknowledging the allness of God, good. We have the promise in Exodus (15:26 ), "I am the Lord that healeth thee."
Perhaps the human situation seems one of confusion or indecision. We can resist the temptation to believe in more than the one Mind, God, divine Love, and know that He points out the way to all who listen. The Bible says (Isa. 45:5 ), "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." And in Science and Health, we read (p. 454 ), "Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way."
In the Christianly scientific practice of resisting agreement with error and agreeing firmly with Truth, perfection comes to light in human affairs. Environment and activity are transformed, and health and happiness are established.
This fact was proved to a student of Christian Science in the quick healing of a painful condition. She and her family had moved to a new city, and there was much to be done in getting things settled in the new home. A bone felon appeared on a finger of her right hand, and in the confusion of pain and burden she felt that it was necessary to ask for help from a Christian Science practitioner.
In a brief telephone conversation the practitioner asked: "Are you believing that this painful condition is true and a part of God's perfect creation? Are you agreeing with this lie about man, or are you holding to the truth of being that man is not material but spiritual?"
This awakened the one who had called for help, and she quickly answered: "I agree that God alone has power. This picture of swelling and pain is an illusion because God never made it. Everything God made is good and expresses Him. I shall refuse to agree with this lie of pain in matter."
As she accepted this statement of truth, her consciousness was lifted above the picture that matter presented. Without the support of the carnal or mortal mind's acceptance, the lie could not stand. Within a day the finger drained painlessly, and the condition disappeared without the usual aftereffects.
As students of Christian Science, we should come to terms promptly with every inharmonious suggestion by rejecting it and standing firm on the fact of creation, perfect God and His perfect expression, man. This agreement with Truth and the conviction of God's all-power bring freedom and bliss into daily experience.
